PODICIPEDID.E: GREBES. 1051 



north ; abundant on Pacific coast of U. S. in winter to Lower California. Eggs as before, 

 averaging smaller still, about 3.00 X 1-90. {Colymbus pacificus Lawr. 1858 j Coues, Pr. 

 Phila. Acad. 1862, p. 228. C- arcticus pacificus of all former editions of Key, and perhaps 

 correctly ; but I now revert to my original position of 1862, since the A. 0. U. have adopted 

 it. Urinator pacificus of A. 0. U. Lists, 1886-95.) 



G. lum'me. (Same word as English loon or loom, also dialoctically loni, lomm, lo7ne, lomme, 

 etc, Danish and Swedish lom, German lolime, lomme, Icelandic lomr ; applied indiscriminately 

 to loons, grebes, murres, guillemots ; the breeding resorts of the latter are called loomeries, 

 and the M'ord reappears in the New Latin form lomvia, now the specific name of the Thick- 

 billed Guillemot or Briinuich's Murre.) Sprat Loon. Red-throated Diver. Bill slen- 

 der; culmen slightly concave at nostrils, gently convex to tip; outline of rami nearly straight ; 

 gonys slightly convex. Frontal antife scarcely extending beyond base of nostrils. Tarsus 

 relatively longer than in any of the foregoing, about \ the middle toe. Adult $ ^ ,m summer : 

 Bill black, rather lighter at tip; feet blackish. Crown and broad cervical stripe glossy green- 

 ish-black, the latter with white streaks, which spread on sides of breast so as to nearly meet 

 in front. Throat and sides of head clear bluish-gray; a large, well-defined, triangular chestnut 

 throat-patch. Upper parts and sides under wings brownish-black, with greenish gloss, pro- 

 fusely spotted with white; the spots small, oval. Primaries blackish, paler on inner webs; 

 tail narrowly tipped with white. Under parts and lining of wings white ; axillars with nar- 

 row dusky shaft-streaks ; lower belly, with some of the under tail-coverts, dusky. Young : 

 Bill mostly bluish-white, with dusky ridge. Crown of head and hind neck bluish-gray, the 

 feathers of the ftirmer bordered with whitish. Upper parts profusely marked with small oval 

 and linear spots of white, as in the adult (as is not the case with any of the foregoing species). 

 Throat without red patch, its sides and tliose of the head chiefly white, more or less mottled 

 with dusky. Length 25.00; extent 44.00; wing 11.50 or less; culmen 2.00; gape 3.00; 

 height of bill at nostril 0.50; width there 0.35; tarsus 2.75; outer toe 3.50. Varies greatly 

 in size, and in size and shape of bill ; recognized by profuse spotting of upper parts, as well 

 as, when adult, by the red throat-i)atch. The spots are smallest and most numerous on wing- 

 coverts and upper back, where they grade into streaks on hind neck ; largest on inner secon- 

 daries, scapulars, and sides under the wings, where they are rather lines than spots ; fewest, 

 or almost wanting, on middle of back. The marking results from a small spot or stripe near 

 end of each feather, on edge of each web ; there is occasionally a second pair nearer base of 

 the feather. The amount of spotting is very variable with individuals ; some old summer birds 

 are nearly plain on the back ; in young the spots are larger and more numerous than in adults, 

 and usually lengthened into oblique lines, producing a regular diamond-shaped reticulation. 

 The difference depends mainly on the moult, which is complete in autumn, and extensive in 

 spring. Northern portion of Northern Hemisphere at large ; breeds from New Brunswick and 

 Manitoba to high latitudes in North America, and ranges over most of the U. S. in winter. 

 Eggs 2-3, 3.00 X 1-75. {Colymbus septentrionalis of authors, as of all former editions of the 

 Key. Urinator lumme of A. O. U. Lists, 1886-95.) 



Suborder PODICIPEDES : Grebes. 



The characters of the suborder are the same as thuse of its single family, as follows : 



Family PODICIPEDID^ : * Grebes. 



Bill of variable length, much longer or shorter than head; culmen usually about straight, 

 sometimes a little concave, or quite convex, especially at end ; commissure nearly straiglit, but 



• Since the name Cobjmbns han been transferred from Lioons to Grebes, under exigency of the A. O. U. Code, and 

 iH the prior generic designation of any Grebes, the present family should in strictness Ix? called Colymbiu.k. We may 



