LIFE HISTORIES OF NOETH AMEEICAN DIVING BIEDS. 55 



under favorable circumstances, the loon often attains a speed of 60 

 miles an hour. Its momentum is so great that when shot, high up 

 in the air, it will strike the Avater in falling at a surprisingly long 

 distance, plowing up the surface or bounding along over it. I have 

 been told of serious damage being done to a gunner's dory where 

 one of these heavy birds had fallen into it. A 15-pound bird flying 

 at the rate of a mile a minute might be expected to cause some trouble 

 under the circumstances. The flight of a loon is decidedly distinc- 

 tive ; .-^uch a rakish craft, long and pointed at both ends, could not be 

 mihtalicn for anything else. The great northern diver can be dis- 

 tinguished from the red-throated loon by its heavier build, and, if 

 near enough, the adult bird can be recognized by its black head and 

 neck. 



I have never seen a loon fly, except when alighting, with anything 

 but perfectly steady and rapid wing beats, but the Hon. K. Magoon 

 Barnes (1897) relates an experience which is an exception to this 

 rule. On the Illinois River, during the spring migration, he saw 

 a loon " making great circles in the air, flapping its wings and then 

 sailing." It " circled round and round and round, very much after 

 the fashion of a bald eagle; rising spirally higher and higher, con- 

 tinuing the flapping of its wings, and the sailing movements until 

 it reached a great altitude. Finally, after it had raised in the air 

 until it appeared but little larger than a blackbird, it straightened out 

 its wings, and pointing its long neck toward the North Pole sailed 

 with great rapidity." With wings set " it seemed to coast or 

 slide down hill, as it were, toward the north." He watched the 

 bird as far as he could trace it, but " could see no movement of the 

 wings," though it " seemed to be traveling at a tremendous rate." 



A loon requires nearly as much space to alight in the water as to 

 rise from it, and creates quite as much commotion at the finish of its 

 flight as at the beginning; its small wings are unable to check the 

 momentum of its heavy body; it circles lower and lower until it 

 can stand the shock of sliding into the water, striking it with a tre- 

 mendous splash, plowing a long furrow and sending the spra}^ flying. 

 It is not a graceful performance, but it is full of force and power. 



The loon is a rapid swimmer and a wonderful diver. It is much 

 more at home in the water than elsewhere. Its plunge beneath the 

 surface is exceedingly quick and graceful, causing little disturbance: 

 with wings closely folded, it is propelled by its powerful paddles 

 alone, which usually work alternately, driving it at a high speed. 

 The loon can swim for a long distance under water and always pre- 

 fers to escape in this way. While endeavoring to escape in this way 

 it often swims with only its bill protruding, which is nearly in- 

 visible and after a brief breathing spell it is fortified for another 



