Loons 



The Black-throated Loon (Urinatar arcticus), a more north- 

 ern species than the preceding, reaches only the Canadian border 

 of the United States in winter. It may be distinguished from the 

 common loon by its smaller size, twenty-seven inches, and by 

 its gray feathers on the top of the head and the nape of the neck, 

 though in winter plumage even this slight difference of feathers 

 is lacking. 



Red-throated Loon 



(Urinator lumme) 



Called also: SPRAT LOON; RED-THROATED DIVER; 

 COBBLE 



Length — 25 inches. 



Male and Female — In summer: Crown and upper parts dull brown- 

 ish black, with a greenish wash and profusely marked with 

 white oval spots and streaks. Underneath white. Bluish 

 gray on forehead, chin, upper throat, and sides of head. A 

 triangular mark of chestnut red on fore neck. Bill black. 

 Tail narrowly tipped with white. In winter and immature 

 specimens: Similar to the common loon in winter, except 

 that the back is spotted with white. 



Range — ^Throughout northern parts of northern hemisphere ; mi- 

 grating southward in winter nearly across the United States. 



Season — Winter visitor or resident. 



It is not an easy matter at a little distance to distinguish this 

 loon from the great northern diver, for the young of the year, 

 which are most abundant migrants in the United States, lack the 

 chestnut-red triangle on the throat, which is the bird's chief mark 

 of identification. Its smaller size is apparent only at close range. 

 In habits these loons are almost identical; and although their 

 name, used metaphorically, has come to imply a simpleton or 

 crazy fellow, no one who has studied them, and certainly no one 

 who has ever tried to shoot one, can call them stupid. It is only 

 on land, where they are almost never seen, that they even 

 look so. 



Audubon found the red-throated loons nesting on the coast 

 of Labrador, near small fresh-water lakes, in June. The young 

 are able to fly by August, and in September can join the older mi- 

 grants in their southern flight. In England these loons follow the 



16 



