296 THEOUGH THE MACKENZIE BASIN 



The Musetiin at Ottawa holds but one specimen, a male, 

 obtained by Dr. K. Bell in Hudson Bay in 1884, and no 

 eggs! 



10. Pacific Loon — Gavia pacificus (Lawrence). 



On the 2,9th of May, 1889, a nest holding but one egg 

 was found by an Indian near Stuart's Lake, B.C., which 

 was constructed exactly like that described under O. arcticus. 

 Loons are not, by any means, common in New Caledonia 

 District, except, perhaps; on the western coast of the Pro- 

 vince. Early in June, 1890, two nests, one of them contain- 

 ing one, and the other two eggs, were discovered by a native 

 in the country situated to the north of Cumberland House, 

 which he asserted to have belonged to this species. This, 

 however, is the most abundant of all the loons usually 

 present in the region of Anderson Kiver. Nests were found 

 by us in the forest sections, on the " Barren Grounds," and 

 on the shores and small islands of the Polar sea-coast of 

 Franklin Bay, — 165 in all, — most of which contained two 

 eggs. This loon is noted for its peculiarly loud, weird, and 

 prolonged shrilly scream during the season of nidification. 



There are no specimens whatever of this loon in the 

 National Museum at Ottawa! This is surely a matter 

 worthy of some consideration, and the remark is also appli- 

 cable to many other Canadian birds. It may be here men- 

 tioned that the eggs of the several members of the Urinator- 

 idw bear a strong family resemblance to each other. 



11. Red-theoated Loon — Gavia lumme (Gunn). 



Although its yearly range in summer is equal to that of 

 O. pacificus, it is the least numerous of the genus, while only 

 forty identified nests were found within the same time, and 

 in the stated Anderson locality, as against 165 nests of the 

 Pacific species. Most of both contained two eggs, the maxi- 

 mum number laid by all loons, according to native report 



