GREAT NORTHERN DIVER OR LOON. 45 
is an absurd notion, entertained by persons unacquainted with the na- 
ture of this bird, that its plaintive cries are a sure indication of vio- 
lent storms. Sailors, in particular, are ever apt to consider these call- 
notes as portentous. In the course of a voyage from Charleston to the 
Florida Keys, in May 1832, I several times saw and heard Loons tra- 
velling eastward; but, notwithstanding all the dire forebodings of the 
crew, who believed that a hurricane was at hand, our passage was ex- 
ceedingly pleasant. Although I have heard the notes of the Loon in 
rainy and blowy weather, yet I never heard them so frequent or so 
loud, both by day and by night, as on the Ohio, during that delightful 
and peculiarly American autumnal season called the Indian Summer ; 
when, although not so much as a cloud was seen for weeks, I have fre- 
quently observed the passing birds checking their flight, or heard the 
murmuring plash which they produced on alighting upon the placid 
water, to rest and refresh themselves. 
Another strange notion, not deserving of credit, although you will 
find it gravely announced in books, is that, when the Loon is breeding, 
it will dart down suddenly from the air, and alight securely in its nest. 
I have never witnessed such a procedure, although I have closely 
watched, from under cover, at least twenty pairs. On such occasions 
I have seen the incubating bird pass over the dear spot several times 
in succession, gradually rounding and descending so as at last to 
alight obliquely on the water, which it always did at a considerable 
distance from the nest, and did not approach it until after glancing 
around and listening attentively, as if to assure itself that it was not 
watched, when it would swim to the shore, and resume its ofiice. 
The Loon breeds in various parts of the United States, from Mary- 
land to Maine. I have ascertained that it nestles in the former of these 
States, on the Susquehannah river, as well as in the districts between 
Kentucky and Canada, and on our great lakes. Dr Rictarpson states 
that it is found breeding as far north as the 70th degree of latitude. 
The situation and form of the nest differ according to circumstances. 
Some of those which breed in the State of Maine, place it on the hil- 
locks of weeds and mud prepared by the musk-rat, on the edges of the 
lakes, or at some distance from them among the rushes. Other nests, 
found on the head-waters of the Wabash River, were situated on the 
mud, amid the rank weeds, more than ten yards from the water. 
Authors have said that only one pair breed on a lake; but I have found 
