lOO NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



Red-throated species is more slender and is slightly concave in the region 

 of the nostrils, which gives it the appearance of being tilted upward from 

 the base. This difference in the bills of our two common species serves as 

 an excellent field mark by which, with the aid of an eight power glass, I have 

 been able to identify the Red-throated loon at the distance of half a mile. 



Distribution. This holarctic species, called also Great northern diver, 

 Diver, Big loon, Ember goose, is a common transient visitant on all 

 large bodies of water within New York State, and is often found through- 

 out the winter on the larger lakes and along the shores of Long Island. In 

 1824, according to Audubon, it was breeding on Cayuga lake, and in 1844, 

 according to Delvay, on Raquet lake. Roosevelt and Minot record it as 

 common in Franklin county tip to 1870. MeiTiam, in 1881, called it a 

 common summer resident of the Adirondack region, and in 1883 found it 

 fairly common at ist Lake, where a nest with partly incubated eggs wasfotind 

 on June loth. According to Davison it foiTnerly bred on the southern shore 

 of Lake Ontario, but I have been unable to find satisfactory evidence of 

 its nesting there in recent years. As a summer resident it is now confined to 

 the secluded ponds and lakes of the Adirondacks, being most numerous in 

 the western and southwestern parts of that region. During the summer of 

 1905, we failed to find it on an}^ of the waters in Essex county, btit a few 

 were met with in Franklin, St Lawrence, Herkimer and Hamilton cormties, 

 where they still breed. Mr L. L. Merriam writes that it is still a common 

 summer resident on man}' lakes north of Beaver River. 



Migrations. The spring migration of the Common loon begins the first of 

 A|)ril in the southern and western portions of the State. It becomes quite 

 common by the middle, or third week of April, and is often seen migrating 

 by day at a considerable elevation, either singly, or in small companies 

 of 6 to 15. On one occasion the writer saw 26 of these birds passing over 

 Canandaigua lake in a scattered company steering toward Lake Ontario. 

 According to Dutcher they leave Long Island in June. The}' are often 

 seen on Lake Ontario and the larger inland lakes as late as the 20th of June, 

 but b}' far the larger portion have passed on to their breeding grounds by 



