54 LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN DIVING BIRDS 



Mr. W. F. Ganong ( 1890) gives a full account of an instance where 

 a young loon attempted to eat a fresh-water clam, by inserting its 

 bill into the open shell of the mollusk, which was about 2 inches long; 

 the young loon found the clam too strong for it and lost part of its 

 bill in consequence. 



Mr. Cecil Swale writes that the loons "catch their fish across the 

 bill and then with a quick toss bring the fish's head into the throat, 

 stretch the head and neck straight up and the fish seems to work its 

 own way down." 



Behavior. Dr. Bell says, according to Mr. Thomas Mcllwraith 

 (1894): 



The loon, in common with some other waterfowl, has a curious habit, when 

 its curiosity is excited by anything it does not understand, of pointing its 

 bill straight upward, and turning its head rapidly round in every direction as 

 if trying to solve the mystery under consideration. Once when in my shooting 

 skiff, behind the rushes, drifting down the bay before a light wind, I came upon 

 a pair of these birds feeding about 20 yards apart. They did not take much 

 notice of what must have seemed to them a clump of floating rushes, and 

 being close enough to one of them I thought to secure it, but the cap snapped. 

 The birds hearing the noise, and still seeing nothing living, rushed together, and 

 got their bills up, as described, for consultation. 



These birds are said to spear the fish with the bill closed, and to bring them 

 to the surface so that they may turn them endways for the purpose of swal- 

 lowing. The gulls, hovering overhead, and seeing what is going on down in the 

 clear water, watch for the moment the fish is raised to the surface, when they 

 swoop down and carry it off. When many hungry gulls are present, this process 

 is repeated till the patience of the loon is quite exhausted. 



The loon navigates the air as a high powered cruiser plows the sea 

 under forced draft. Perfection of design, with ample power ef- 

 fectively applied, produce the desired result. The lines are perfect; 

 the strong neck and breast, terminating in the long sharp bill, are 

 outstretched to pierce the air like the keenest spear; the heavy body, 

 tapering fore and aft, glides through the air with the least possible 

 resistance; and the big feet, held close together and straight out 

 behind, form an effective rudder. The power is applied by wings 

 which seem too small driven at high speed by large and powerful 

 muscles. Its weight gives it stability and great momentum. It can 

 not rise off the land at all and before it can rise from the water it 

 must patter along the surface, half running and half flying, beating 

 the water with both feet and wings, for a long distance; even then 

 it experiences considerable difficulty unless facing a strong wind. 

 But when once under way its flight is strong, direct, rapid, and long 

 sustained. While coot shooting off the coast, we used to estimate 

 the speed of a passing loon by noting the time required to fly from 

 our line of boats a known distance to the next line of boats, where 

 a puff of smoke would announce its arrival ; we were convinced that, 



