OUTDOORS 



the yellow-billed loons and the red-throated 

 and black-throated loons. 



In the lake country, where the land round 

 about is rough and hilly, is a region where 

 this peculiar bird may be studied to advan- 

 tage. I say studied not in the sense of classi- 

 fication and ornithological accuracy as to 

 habits and surroundings, but in the idle and 

 curiously speculative spirit. This will take 

 in as accessories the lakes and hills, the 

 woods and sandy shores, the skimming flight 

 of sand-pipers, and the seesaw of sun and 

 shadow on the rocking ripples. Do not take 

 a camera with you. Take a rifle and shoot 

 a few times at the loons you see, simply for 

 the excitement of watching them dodge. The 

 chances are a hundred to one that you will 

 not hit a bird. 



The best place to go is to some high point 

 overlooking a cove or bay that loons fre- 

 quent, and when you have found a pair, you 

 will first notice their fondness for solitude. 

 A pair of them will float a few hundred yards 

 from shore, in as secluded a spot as they can 

 find, for hours at a time. They do not heed 

 the blackbirds that fly across, nor the hawks 

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