68 BULLETIN 107, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 
Nesting.—Mr. W. Sprague Brooks has sent me the following notes 
on a nest which he found at Demarcation Point, Arctic Alaska, on 
July 4, 1914: 
The nest was on the edge of a shallow slough on the tundra about 200 yards 
from the shore of the Arctic Ocean. This slough was about 3 acres in area, 
but another nest was found in one of about half an acre. Enough room to take 
wing seems to be all that is required. The nest itself was in the aquatic vegeta- 
tion along the edge and was merely a soaking wet mass of roots, stems, and the 
accompanying mud, of this same plant torn from the bottom. In the three 
nests of this species that I found the bird on being disturbed did not show 
any particular concern, merely swimming off to the other side of the slough 
and keeping an eye on my activities. 
Macfarlane (1908) refers to a nest of this species found near 
Stuart’s Lake, British Columbia, on May 29, 1889, and two nests 
found early in June, 1890, north of Cumberland House, showing that 
the Pacific loon breeds far inland. In his notes on the birds of the 
lower Mackenzie and Anderson Rivers, Macfarlane (1891) says: 
This is the most abundant of all the divers in the region under investigat‘on. 
Nests were discovered in the wooded country, in the Barren Grounds, and on 
the shores and islands of the Arctic coast. In situation and composition they 
resemble those of U. imber. In all about 165 nests, most of which contained 
two eggs, were secured in course of the five seasons, from 1862 to 1866, in- 
clusive. 
Eggs—tThe eggs of the Pacific loon are much like other loon’s 
eggs, but they average smaller than those of the black-throated loon 
and larger than those of the red-throated loon. In shape they are 
“ elliptical ovate” or “cylindrical ovate,” usually the former and 
very rarely nearly “ovate.” The ground color is “ Prouts’ brown,” 
“ Saccardo’s umber,” “ cinnamon brown,” “dark olive buff,” or “ Isa- 
bella color,” very rarely “ pale olive buff.” The egg is usually sparsely 
covered with small spots, but often there are a few scattering larger 
spots, of the darkest shades of brown or nearly black; some eggs show 
underlying spots or pale shades of lavender or drab. The measure- 
ments of 41 eggs, in the United States National Museum, average 
75.5 by 47 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 
87 by 45, 80 by 51, 68.5 by 46, and 70.5 by 44 millimeters. 
Young.—Nelson (1887) gives the following account of the behavior 
and food of the young: 
When the young can follow their parents all pass to the coast, and during 
calm, pleasant weather, the last of July and in August, they are very common 
in all the shallow bays along shore. On one occasion downy young, not over 
one-fourth grown, were found on August 30. They were in aepond over 2 miles 
from any place where fish could be found, so that the parents must have flown 
4 miles at least for each fish taken to them. One of the young birds had a half 
digested tomcod about 6 inches long in its gullet, and one of the parents was 
seen coming in from the seacoast 5 or 6 miles away with a fish of the same size 
crosswise in its beak. : 
