THE OOLOGISl 



that I have become acquainted with 

 these birds, except as a few specimens 

 ■shot by hunterd, and passing through 

 my hands as a taxidermist, have come 

 under my notice. However, in the 

 spring of 1898 I had a visit from a Mr. 

 A. who was interested in oology and 

 while speaking of the birds found in our 

 locality, he chanced to mention the 

 Loon and informed me that it breeds on 

 a lake about 5i miles from his home, 

 and that he had taken sets of their eggs. 

 Accordingly, the first chance I had, 

 which was in the spring of 1900, 

 on the 19th of June, in company with a 

 friend, I hitched up my horse, loaded 

 my buggy with portable boat and boxes 

 for eggs and after a long and dusty 

 drive over sandhills in the hot sun, ar- 

 rived at Mr. A's place between 10 and 

 11 in the evening, hungry and tired but 

 delighted with the prospects for the 

 next day as the country was rough and 

 appeared to be a paradise for birds. 

 After supper, and a look at Mr. A's col- 

 lection, we laid our plans for the mor- 

 row and retired to rest to dream of 

 loons nests like bay stacks and eggs so 

 large we could not carry them. 



As the fleas are abundant in this sandy 

 district, sleep was short, and ere the 

 hands of the clock pointed to the hour 

 of three, I was up and ready to take a 

 look at the country in the better light 

 of day. 



We got an early breakfast, and while 

 the morniDg was yet cool, started off 

 for the lake where for eight successive 

 years he had known the loof^s to breed, 

 and where he had taken a number of 

 sets of their eggs. We p^issei numerous 

 small ponds on the way where Red- 

 winged and Yellow-headed Blackbirds 

 were abundaut; Killdeers Blue-winged 

 Teal, Ring-necked, Pintail, Mallard 

 and other DucVs were plentiful, and 

 Mr. A showed us the place where a year 

 ago in June he had found a nest con- 

 taining broken shells of the Canada 

 Goose. And about 9:30 reached Loon 



lake; the lake was a long shaped sheet 

 of water of good size, sheltered on the 

 east by wi lows, while on the two ends 

 and the west a low grassy shore inter- 

 vened the water's edge and the timber 

 line. We drove round to the east 

 side where the bottom of the lake was 

 gravelly and firm, and as we drove 

 through the opening in the trees that 

 gives access to the lake the male bird 

 swimming on the water caught our eyes 

 and we prepared to launch our boat. 

 While putting together our boat I cast 

 my eye over the lake and near the 

 south end I could see the female Loon 

 sitting on what in the distance appeared 

 to be a musk rat house of small size, 

 well out in thii water. Mr. A and I, as 

 soon as we had our boat up, launched 

 it upon the lake while my companion 

 took gun and rifle and hid himself in 

 the rushes at the north end of the lake 

 to see if he could secure one of the birds 

 for a specimen. A and I soon reached 

 the nest, and when we were about one 

 hundred yards away, the female slipped 

 off into the water not to re-appear until 

 she came to the surface at the other end 

 of the lake in company with her mate. 

 As we paddled up to the nest we could 

 see the large olive green eggs at quite a 

 distance, and I soon drew the boat 

 along side and took the eggs. There 

 were two, which is the number in all 

 the sets found by Mr. A and I, and re- 

 corded by most collectors. They varied 

 in color, the ground color of the one 

 being browner than in the other; the 

 spots of dark brownish black were 

 scattered all over the egg quite evenly, 

 in fact, they were atypical set of Loon's 

 eggs. The nest was merely a pile of 

 bog moss brought up from the bottom 

 by the birds and piled up until about nine 

 inches above water level; was about 

 two feet three inches in diameter at the 

 base and about 1 foot at the top, and 

 the water about two feet deep. Mr. A. 

 tells me that all the nests taken by him 

 on this lake have been the same pile of 



