8 NESTS AND Ems OF 



considered of rare occurrence. On the little islands of the fresh water lochs, from 

 the middle portion of Scotland northward to the islands beyond John 0'Groat'& 

 House — the Orkney and Shetland — this species is known to breed as well as on the 

 JHebrides on the west coast.. In North America it, occurs as far south as the United 

 States. On the Pacific coast it is replaced by the next species, .V. pacificus. Accord- 

 ing to Nelson this Loon is very common all along the American shore of the sea 

 about Kotzebue Sound, and they are also humerous on the large streams and marshes 

 of the interior, and the eggs have been taken at Fort Yukon. Like all the Loons, its 

 home is on the water; it is awkward and almost helpless on land. Its progress 

 under water has been estimated tO' be not less than eight miles an hour. Mr. Nelson 

 says. that the eggS are usually placed on some small islet in a secluded pond. There 

 is no attempt to make a nest, and frequently the eggs lie in a spot washed by water 

 when the wind blows from the right quarter. In spite of this the young are duly 

 hatched. Two eggs are deposited, of a dark olive, blotched ■vvith black spots which 

 are generally confluent about the larger end, very frequently they are crowded into 

 a black patch at the very apex of the larger end, elongated in shape, but occasion- 

 ally somewhat oval. Extremes in size are 3.08x1.95 and 2.75x1.76. Twelve sets, 

 selected from forty-six sets of this species' eggs are in Mr.'CrandaH's collection. They 

 were collected in various parts of Sweden, Lapland and Finland. These show an 

 average measurement of 3.32x2.06. 



10. PACiriC LOON. Vrinator paciflcus (Lawr.) Geog. Dist.— Pacific Coast 

 of North America, south in winter to Cape St. Lucas and Guadalupe Island. 



As its name implies, the Pacific Diver is confined to. the West, and the above 

 habitat clearly indicates its range., Mr. Murdoch mentions it as very common at 

 Point Barrow. It breeds in the Arctic regions — on the islands in the lakes and bays 

 of Alaska — in the marshes of the Yukon River, and It has been found breeding in 

 considerable numbers at Fort Anderson. It breeds commonly in the innumerable 

 lakes and ponds of the Near Islands. Alaska,* accoruing to Turner. The nest of this 

 Loon is made in a decayed mass of vegetation similar to a Grebe's nest, and often it 

 is a mere hole in the turf in which the eggs are deposited. Sometimes the depression 

 is found to be scantily lined with feathers. , One hundred .and five nests observed by 

 Mr. MacFarlane, in the vicinity of Fort Anderson, contained no more than two eggs 

 each.t The eggs are described as having a ground color, varying from a deep 

 amber to a pale greenish-'gray and in size measuring from 2.95 to 3.25 long by 1.85 to 

 2.00 in breadth. 



X~ 11. RED-THKOATED LOON. Vrinator lumme (Gunn.) Geoc. Dist.— North- 

 ern part of Northern Hemisphere, migrating southward in winter nearly across the 

 United States. 



This beautiful little Loon breeds in high latitudes. It is also a bird of the Old 

 World, where its breeding range is about the same as that of the Black-throated 

 Diver. It is not an uncommon summer resident of New Brunswick, and it breeds 

 in conipany with the common Loon in the Province of Quebec, Canada, on the 

 islands of the St. Lawrence River and Gulf. In the large lakes and ponds of Mani- 

 toba it is a tolerably common summer resident, and particularly in the Red River 

 valley. From these places northward to Alaska, and in the Arctic regions it breeds 



•This group forms the westernmost portion of the Aleutian chain; they are »o 

 designated because they lie nearest (he Asiatic Coast. 



T Baird, Brewer and Eidgway's Water Birds, Vol. II, p. 457. 



