3IO Bird- Lore 



get its head under water, while its feet were kicking at the air, which made a 

 very funny sight. 



The old Loons would raise up on their tails and kick water about ten feet 

 at us, trying in vain to drive us away. 



One little Loon would go away from its parents. We rolled it under with 

 our boat once and, when it came up on the other side, I could have picked it 

 up if I had not been afraid of tipping the boat. 



The old ones were giving warning cries all the time, also kicking water at us. 



When we were going away, we watched them get the young Loons together 

 again. 



It was about ten days after we had been there, not being able to get there 

 but once, that we noticed they were in the lake nearest the house. 



We do not know how they got them over, but suppose they carried them on 

 their backs, because they cannot walk, for their legs are set back too far (for 

 the purpose of swimming). 



They were in our lake about two weeks, so I saw them every day. 



One day, when my father was working in the garden, he saw the young 

 ones trying to cross the pass; but the cows came before they got a very good 

 start and chased them back. But they were not going to give it up for, when 

 the cows were not there, they again started. They were about halfway across 

 the pass when my father called to me and told me to come and see them. 

 We ran through the pasture to where they were. 



They stopped when they caught sight of us and turned, all ready for fight. 

 They came up to us in a sliding motion, using their legs as pushers. 



The old Loons were over in the big lake calling to them, and they answered 

 them in their queer way. 



We picked them up and brought them up to the house, to show the rest 

 of the family. 



They were brown on the back and white below, and about one-fourth their 

 natural size. 



They have a queer way of calling their parents. 



When we went to take them back, we saw the mother Loon fly down into 

 the little lake. 



We held them so she could see them, to see how close she would come to us. 

 She would call and they would answer her until she got quite near us, when 

 we put one down. 



It swam on top for a few seconds and then dove under water, where it 

 swam for a long time; then came up for a few minutes to get air and down 

 again. 



The old Loon started to go after the one we had put down, so we let the 

 other down and it did the same until they both reached their mother. 



It was not long before the other old one came. The parent birds did not try 

 to get the little ones out again until they learned to fly. 



