32 



IOWA ORNITHOLOGIST. 



ed Loon, is a distinctively north- 

 ern species, and appears only 

 during the winter, very irregular- 

 ly. Three years ago I saw a flock 

 of Red-throated Loons on a small 

 lake in Franklin county, and af- 

 ter a long detour and much care- 

 ful crawling in a layer of snow 

 and mud, succeeded in approach- 

 ing near enough to secure two of 

 the birds at one shot. This is 

 the only time I have found loons 

 of either variety in a flock; the 

 class is not gregarious and I 

 would not be convinced of the 

 identity until T had the birds 

 where I could compare with des- 

 cription. 



The order Longipennes has ten 

 representatives in Iowa, four of 

 the species being gulls and six 

 terns. The Great Black-backed 

 Gull is mentioned by Allen as a 

 rare migrant occurring within our 

 borders. It is probable that none 

 have been seen within recent 

 years. The Herring Gull mi- 

 grates over nearly all of the 

 Mississippi Valley. Franklin's 

 Gull breeds from southern Minne- 

 sota northward, passing through 

 Iowa during migration, but is not 

 a common variety. Bonaparte's 

 Gull is strictly northern in its 

 nidification, wintering on the 

 gulf coast and traversing Iowa 

 durini{ migrations. The Gull- 



billed Tern is chiefly a coast bird 

 breeding on the Gulf of Mexico, 

 but is occasionally reported from 

 the various portions of the Missis- 

 sippi Valley. The Caspian Tern 

 was taken by J. W. Preston in 

 central Iowa, but should proba- 

 bly be considered as a straggler. 

 It is an irregularly distributed 

 species and is found chiefly along 

 the gulf coast. Forster's Tern is 

 a common variety in northern 

 Iowa, and is generally distribut- 

 ed over the state as a summer 

 resident, wintering on the coast. 

 The Common Tern, according to 

 Mr. Preston before quoted, has 

 been taken in Central Iowa. The 

 Least Tern, while chiefly coast- 

 wise in its habitat, is occasional- 

 ly found in various parts of the 

 Missi.=sippi Valley. I do not 

 know at what place nor at what 

 season specimens have been tak- 

 en in Iowa, but Mr. Allen names 

 it in his list. The Black Tern is 

 the most common of the class 

 with us as a summer resident. 



Of the Steganopodes there are 

 two species. The Double-crest- 

 ed Cormorant winters south and 

 is common during migrations. I 

 have taken several specimens in 

 Franklin county. The American 

 White Pelican winters in the gulf 

 states and passes through Iowa to 

 its breeding place in the north. 



