Habits of Loons 101 



far back on the body, but the water is their natural element, and they are per- 

 haps the most expert divers known among birds, diving so quickly that it is 

 almost impossible to shoot one, when it is alert, even with a rifle. Although 

 they have well-developed and rather strong wings, they rise from the water with 

 more or less difficulty, but when once under way their flight is exceedingly swift 

 and as straight as an arrow. The sexes are alike in plumage, although there is 

 considerable difference between the summer and winter dress as well as between 

 adults and downy young. They are blackish or slaty above and white beneath, 

 becoming in summer thickly spotted or speckled with white, while the throat 

 and fore neck are blackish or chestnut. In winter plumage and in the young 

 the white markings are absent from the upper parts and the throat and fore neck 

 are white like the remainder of the lower parts. They are circumpolar in dis- 

 tribution, the five recognized species being referred to a single genus (Gavia). 

 Unlike their relatives the Auks, they are not at all gregarious or sociable, being 

 usually found singly or in pairs, though occasionally in winter they are forced to 

 crowd together when there is a limited surface of open water in which they can 

 feed. They are found during the nesting season throughout the cooler parts of 

 the northern hemisphere, even well within the Arctic circle, but during the win- 

 ter they are widely spread throughout temperate regions, and especially along 

 the adjacent oceans. Knowing that man is its mortal enemy, it is constantly on 

 the watch. When it meets a passing boat it widens the distance by immediately 

 sheering off, and prefers to escape pursuit by diving rather than flying, remain- 

 ing under water so long and coming to the surface at so great a distance from its 

 would-be captor, and in such unexpected places, that its pursuit is rendered 

 tedious and often unavailing. In spring they repair to the more secluded lakes 

 and ponds for the purpose of rearing their young. The nest is a rude affair of 

 grass, moss, and often a little mud, placed on the ground at the edge of a marsh 

 or lake, often on an abandoned muskrat "house," a bog, or other slight eleva- 

 tion in shallow water. There is no attempt at concealment, but the nest is usu- 

 ally so placed as to permit of uninterrupted vision in all directions, so that the 

 moment danger threatens the parent slips silently into the water and is gone. 

 The eggs are, however, adapted for concealment, being dark brown or olive, 

 speckled or spotted with brown or blackish, thus harmonizing with the grass 

 lining of the nest. The eggs, two in number, are elongate-ovate in shape and 

 of large size. The cry of the Loon is exceedingly loud and melancholy, being 

 likened by some to the howl of a wolf or the prolonged scream of a human being 

 in deep distress. It is frequently uttered at night, or in early morning when 

 nature is otherwise silent, and the effect upon the startled listener is often one 

 of fright and horror. They feed entirely upon fish, which they are adepts in 

 capturing. The following account is from the pen of Dr. Coues, and refers to the 

 Pacific Loon (Gavia pacified), which he once found surprisingly tame about the 

 bay of San Pedro in southern California: "Now two or three would ride lightly 

 over the surface, with neck gracefully curved, propelled with idle strokes of 

 their paddles to this side and that, one leg, often the other, stretched at ease 

 almost horizontally backward, while their flashing eyes, first directed upward 



