17 



he says, never used its wings in swimming, although it swam 

 with incredible swiftness. Mr. Harry A. Cash, Providence, 

 Rhode Island, saw a Loon on Cape Cod pass out through a 

 narrow, shallow stream in making its escape to the open water. 

 This bird swam under the w^ater, but did not use its wings. 

 It was not wounded and had not been frightened by shooting. 

 Nevertheless, in the literature of American ornithology there 

 are a few observations regarding the under-water use of the 

 wings by Loons. Audubon says : 



Having myself seen Loons pass and repass under boats, at the dis- 

 tance of several feet from the surface, and propel themselves both with 

 their feet and their half-extended wings, I am inclined to believe that 

 when not wounded and when pursuing their prey, they usually employ 

 all their limbs. l 



Xuttall writes as follows about a Loon which he kept in a 

 fish-pond, which was an indefatigable diver: 



and would remain down sometimes for several minutes, often swimming 

 under water, and, as it were, flying with the velocity of an arrow in the 

 air. 2 



Dr. Suckley followed a slightly wounded Red-throated Loon 

 along the banks of a shallow lagoon from which it attempted 

 to escape into the open waters of the Straits of Fuca. He was 

 obliged to "run as fast as possible to keep up with it." The 

 water was clear and shallow and he could see its motions dis- 

 tinctly. "The head and neck were extended nearly straight, 

 and, in addition to the ordinary propulsion by the feet," the 

 bird "used the wings exactly as if flying." 3 



Dr. Coues, who had an excellent opportunity in 1865 to 

 watch Pacific Loons in the Bay of San Pedro in southern 

 California, says that these birds were remarkably numerous and 

 very tame. He had no difficulty in securing all the specimens 

 that he wanted or in watching their under-water activities. He 

 states that he could follow their course and "see them shoot 

 with marvelous swiftness through the limpid element, as, urged 



1 Audubon, J. J.: Ornithological Biography, Vol. IV, 1838, p. 51. 



2 Chamberlain, Montague: A Popular Handbook of the Ornithology of the United States and 

 Canada, based on Nuttall's Manual, Vol. 2, 1891, p. 393. 



3 Suckley, George, and Cooper, James Graham: The Natural History of Washington Terri- 

 tory and Oregon, 1860, p. 280. 



