54 BULLETIN 107, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 
Mr. W. F. Ganong (1890) gives a full account of an instance where 
a young loon attempted to eat a fresh-water clam, by inserting its 
bill into the open shell of the mollusk, which was about 2 inches long; 
the young loon found the clam too strong for it and lost part of its 
bill in consequence. 
Mr. Cecil Swale writes that the loons “ catch their fish across the 
bill and then with a quick toss bring the fish’s head into the throat, 
stretch the head and neck straight up and the fish seems to work its 
own way down.” 
Behavior.—Dr. Bell says, according to Mr. Thomas MclIlwraith 
(1894) : 
The loon, in common with some other waterfowl, has a curious habit, when 
its curiosity is excited by anything it does not understand, of pointing its 
bill straight upward, and turning its head rapidly round in every direction as 
if trying to solve the mystery under consideration. Once when in my shooting 
skiff, behind the rushes, drifting down the bay before a light wind, I came upon 
a pair of these birds feeding about 20 yards apart. They did not take much 
notice of what must have seemed to them a clump of floating rushes, and 
being close enough to one of them I thought to secure it, but the cap snapped. 
The birds hearing the noise, and still seeing nothing living, rushed together, and 
got their bills up, as described, for consultation. 
These birds are said to spear the fish with the bill closed, and to bring them 
to the surface so that they may turn them endways for the purpose of swal- 
lowing. The gulls, hovering overhead, and seeing what is going on down in the 
clear water, watch for the moment the fish is raised to the surface, when they 
swoop down and carry it off. When many hungry gulls are present, this process 
is repeated till the patience of the loon is quite exhausted. 
The loon navigates the air as a high powered cruiser plows the sea 
under forced draft. Perfection of design, with ample power ef- 
fectively applied, produce the desired result. The lines are perfect; 
the strong neck and breast, terminating in the long sharp bill, are 
outstretched to pierce the air like the keenest spear; the heavy body, 
tapering fore and aft, glides through the air with the least possible 
resistance; and the big feet, held close together and straight out 
behind, form an effective rudder. The power is applied by wings— 
which seem too small—driven at high speed by large and powerful 
muscles. Its weight gives it stability and great momentum. It can 
not rise off the land at all and before it can rise from the water it 
must patter along the surface, half running and half flying, beating 
the water with both feet and wings, for a long distance; even then 
it experiences considerable difficulty unless facing a strong wind. 
But when once under way its flight is strong, direct, rapid, and long 
sustained. While coot shooting off the coast we used to, estimate 
the speed of a passing loon by noting the time required to fly from 
our line of boats a known distance to the next line of boats, where 
a puff of smoke would announce its arrival; we were convinced that, 
