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FIELD ZOOLOGY. 



may be called strictly arctic. The great northern diver 

 is the most common loon in the United States. It nests 

 in the states along our northern border on islands in the 

 lakes and rivers. The parallel of forty- two degrees was 

 formerly spoken of as its southern breeding limit, but of 

 later years it has been found considerably south of this 

 line. Not only is it found in the Adirondack region, in 

 Michigan, and in Maine, but it also comes as far south as 

 Nebraska. 



The birds of the order are all excellent swimmers, but 

 the loons and the grebes excel the others. A loon is so 

 nearly instantaneous in its response to a stimulus that a 

 bullet fired at hunter's range strikes the water after the 

 bird has left the spot where the bullet enters the water. 

 This expertness is shared by all the grebes, and as they 

 sink below the water surface, hardly a ripple is left to tell 

 where they sank. Both loons and grebes are capable 

 of swimming extraordinary distances under water. The 

 plumage of the birds is kept well oiled, and the oil naturally 

 at the base of the feathers is so abundant that no amount 

 of diving or swimming under water can unfit the birds 

 for a further plunge. 



The grebes are much more generally distributed 

 over the continent than are any other birds of the order. 

 The western grebe ranges over the whole western part 

 of the United States from the Rio Grande country on 

 the south to the Red River of the North, breeding in 

 many of the inland lakes and streams. The pied-billed 

 grebe, which has a black band around its bill midway of 

 its yellowish-gray length, is another grebe of very wide 

 distribution. It ranges from the provinces of British 

 America to Chili and the Argentine country, spreading 

 Atlantic-wise to the West Indies and the Bermudas. 



