334 BIRDS OF NEW ENGLAND AND EASTERN NEW YORK 



speckled with white ; breast and belly white. Ad. in winter and 

 Im. — Upper parts, wings, and tail blackish-brown, speckled with 

 white ; throat, fore neck, and rest of under parts white. 



The Eed-throated Loon is a common migrant along the 

 sea-coast in September and October, and again in April, 

 and a not uncommon winter visitant. It occasionally occurs 

 on large inland waters, as at Springfield, Mass., and on the 

 Hudson. The adult breeding plumage with the red throat 

 is very rare. Its feeding habits resemble those of the fol- 

 lowing species. The two species resemble each other so 

 closely in winter that it is difficult to be sure of the 

 smaller species unless there is something else to measure 

 it by, or unless one gets near enough to see the white 

 speckling on the back. 



Loon. Gavia imber 

 32.00 

 Ad. in summer. — Head and throat black ; small white streaks 

 on the throat and on the back of the neck ; back black, spotted 

 with white ; breast and belly white. Ad. in winter and Im. — Upper 

 parts brown, not spotted with white ; throat, fore neck, and under 

 parts white. 



Nest, a, rude structure of rushes, very near the water. Eggs, 

 brown or greenish-brown, sparingly spotted with dark brown. 



The Loon is a summer resident of northern New York 

 and New England, occurring sparingly on the more remote 

 bodies of water from the neighborhood of Mt. Monadnock 

 northward, and commonly in the wilder portions of Maine 

 and of the Adirondacks. It is a common winter visitant off 

 the coast of New York and New England, and may occur 

 as a migrant in May and September on any inland pond or 

 lake. It may be found during the summer on the coast of 

 Maine, though it does not breed there. 



Its weird notes are a familiar sound on the northern 

 lakes or harbors : one, loud and clear, with a rising inflec- 



