32 BIRDS OF ONTARIO. 



URINATOR ARCTICUS (LiNN.). 

 6. Black-throated Loon. (9) 



Back and under parts much as in the last species ; upper part of head and 

 hind neck, bluish-ah or hoary-gray ; fore neck purplish-black, with a patch 

 of white streaks ; bill, black. The young resemble those of that species, but will 

 be known by their inferior size. Length, under 2i feet ; extent, about 3 ; wing, 

 13 inches or less ; tarsus, 3 ; bill, about 2i. 



HAB. Northern part of the northern hemisphere. In North America 

 migrating south in winter to the northern United States. 



Nest, a hollow in the ground not far from the water's edge. 



Eggs, two, dark olive, marked with black spots towards the larger end. 



This is a much more northern bird than the preceding, for it is 

 seldom met with in the United States, and then mostly in winter 

 in immature plumage. In its migratory course it no doubt visits 

 the waters of Ontario, and should be looked for by those who have 

 opportunity to do so. A pair of these birds, found in the neighbor- 

 hood of Toronto, was included in a collection that was sent to the 

 Paris Exposition in 1866, and I once saw an individual in Hamilton 

 Bay under circumstances which prevented me from shooting it, though 

 I was quite close enough, and satisfied of its identity. It was on a 

 still, dull day in the early part of April, and the ice on the bay was 

 broken up and floating about in loose flakes. Water-fowl of different 

 kinds were coming rapidly in and pitching down into the open water. 

 I was out in my shooting skiff in search of specimens, when the wind 

 suddenly blew up from the east, and I was caught among the drifting 

 ice. Everything in the skiff got soaking wet. I broke both paddles 

 trying to force a passage, and for a time was at the mercy of the 

 elements. While drifting along in this condition I came close to a 

 Black -throated Diver in similar trouble, for it was caught among the 

 ice, unable to rise, and evidently afraid to dive, not knowing where it 

 might come up We looked sympathizingly at each other, it uttered 

 a low whining cry, and we drifted apart. I got safe to land, and it 

 is to be hoped the rare bird reached the open water and got off 

 in safety. We did not meet again. Not having seen the species 

 recently, nor heard of its capture by others, I consider it a very rare 

 visitor to these inland waters. In Dr. Wheaton's exhaustive report 

 on the " Birds of Ohio," mention is made of an individual having 

 been shot in Sandusky Bay in the fall of 1880, but the line of its 

 migratory course is probably along the sea coast. 



Dr. Coues, when speaking in his "Birds of the North- West " of the 



