20 BIRDS OF NORTH CAROLINA 



The nest is a mass of reeds and water-soaked decaying vegetable matter, usually 

 floating and attached to growing reeds. The eggs number from four to eight, and 

 are dull white, and usually much soiled. Size about 1.75 x 1.20. 



2. FAMILY GAVIID>E. LOONS 



The family of loons is represented in our territory by one genus, Gavia, com- 

 posed of two species, which are quite the equal of the grebes in the matter of swim- 

 ming and diving. They rarely visit the land except for the purpose of nidification ; 

 in fact, they are almost helpless when on shore, and move with the greatest diffi- 

 culty. Their food consists largely of fish, which they procure by diving and pur- 

 suing under water. 



Genus Gavia (J. R. Forst.) 



KEY TO SPECIES 



Two species occur within the State, which may be distinguished as follows : 



1. Wing 13 inches or more. Loon. 



1. Wing 11.5 inches or less. Red-throated Loon. 



4. Gavia immer (Brunn.}. LOON. 



Description: Ads. in summer. Upperparts, wings, tail, and neck black with bluish or 

 greenish reflections; spaces on the throat and sides of neck streaked with white; back and 

 wings spotted and barred with white; breast and belly white; sides and a band at base of under 

 tail-coverts black spotted with white. Ads. in winter and Im. Upperparts, wings, and tail 

 blackish margined with grayish, not spotted with white; underparts white: throat sometimes 

 washed with grayish. L., 32.00; W., 14.00; Tar., 3.40; B., 2.80. (Chap., Birds of E. N. A.) 



Range. Northern part of Northern Hemisphere, breeding in America from northern 

 United States northward, wintering from southern New England to Florida. 



Range in North Carolina. Coastal region in winter; occasional inland. 



"The Loon, or Great Northern Diver, is a large, heavy bird with long stout neck 

 and strong sharp beak. In bulk it is the equal of a fair-sized goose (Fig. 3), and 

 many specimens are fully three feet long. On land it is almost helpless, and in fact 

 appears incapable of rising except from a large sheet of water, along the surface 

 of which it can patter a distance before finally swinging clear. In the spring and 

 summer plumage the white-fluted collar, with its upright lines of black spots, forms 

 a beautiful and conspicuous part of its attire. 



"The summer home of the Loon is on the clear northern lakes. In winter it is 

 common along the southern coast, and wherever found its presence is known to the 

 inhabitants War Loon, the fishermen often call it. Although striking in appear- 

 ance, it would hardly have won its place in poetry and legend but for its cry, which 

 is one of the wildest notes in all nature. Loud and far-reaching, it comes ringing 

 across the water to one's ears with startling effect. There is, too, a quality of 

 unspeakable sadness in the notes, suggestive of heart-breaking anguish. 



"While the writer was lying at anchor on the great Pamlico Sound in a heavy 

 fog early one morning, a Loon suddenly emerged from the water but a few rods 

 distant. His figure, distended by the fog, seemed immense. Surprised by the 

 proximity of the silent, phantom-like vessel, the bird, ere it plunged again into the 



