42 



Bird -Lore 



danger. When I first saw the family group, both parents and 

 the little one were together ; but immediately on the appear- 

 ance of my boat the whole group disappeared under the surface. 

 The young bird soon came to the surface again in about the same 

 spot, but the parents were some distance off on the other side of 

 the boat, so that I was between them. Both parents were per- 

 fectly quiet until I undertook to row toward their offspring, when 



NEST AND EGGS OF LOON 

 Photographed from Nature, by William Dutcher 



one of the parents uttered what was to me a very new and peculiar 

 cry, on hearing which the little one immediately dove ; the cry 

 was entirely different from the usual loud, maniacal cry of the Loons. 

 As soon as the young one appeared 1 again started toward him, 

 when the old bird repeated the same cry, and down went the little 

 fellow. It was very evident that he knew whenever he heard that 

 warning cry he must disappear at once. I had so much sympathy 

 for the lonely little chap that I left him, after I had tried the 

 experiment a number of times. As soon as I drew away to 

 another part of the pond the old birds uttered the visual well 

 known cry of the species, but the little one then remained on 

 the surface and was soon joined by the parent birds. 



A few weeks later the same group acted in an entirely different 

 manner ; then they remained together, and as the boat approached, 

 the old bird with its bill seemed to push the young one under 

 the water before it dove itself. 



If this bit of the domestic life of these two Loon families has 

 interested you as much as it did me, I shall feel amply repaid for 

 the thirty-two miles I had to drive each time I visited them. 



