THE BIRDS OF WISCONSIN. 
eight inches in length. There is no record of G. adamsii, but 
in I860, Thure Kumlien received a spring loon which had a 
pale bill, nearly white at tip, gradually fading into a dull straw 
yellow, and nearly normal at the base. In no other respect, 
however, he states in his notes, did it differ from typical 
imber. 
Garia avctica (Linn.). BLACK-THROATED LOON. 
This is certainly a very rare bird in Wisconsin, occurring 
only as a straggler in late fall or winter. We have access to 
but three unquestionable records. One was shot on Rock 
River, near Janesville, late in the winter of 1860, and mounted 
for the owner, a gentleman from Rockford, 111. This was an 
immature specimen, still showing many traces of the winter 
plumage. Another, taken at Racine, was preserved in the Hoy 
collection; and another, taken at Milwaukee, is also on record. 
Gavia lumme (Gunn.). RED-THROATED LOON. 
"Very common winter resident upon Lake Michigan" 
(Nelson, 1877). "Not uncommon during winter" (Hoy, 1852). 
From my own observations I find this species a regular and 
common resident of Lake Michigan in winter. During the 
unusually severe winter of 1880-81, when Lake Michigan at 
Milwaukee was frozen nearly or quite across in places, large 
numbers of this species were seen off that city, and many were 
caught. They could be seen huddled together on the ice, some 
dead and others nearly famished. Such as survived until spring 
were uncommonly tardy in their northward migration, 
especially as the spring was unusually backward. The follow- 
ing June (1881) I saw a dozen or more on the rocks at the 
"Door" (the extreme northern end of Door County, between 
Lake Michigan and Green Bay), and coupling this with a 
quantity of second-hand information, made a record to the 
effect that they were breeding. Possibly they were, but with 
the mature judgment of later years I should have been much 
slower in considering the evidence conclusive. Many, if not 
all, of the birds were in full summer plumage, but I have since 
learned on more than one occasion, that the presence of birds 
in a given locality in summer is not evidence that thev are 
nesting (L. K.). On the larger inland lakes and streams the 
red-throated loon is seldom seen in spring, but occurs spar- 
ingly during October and November, or until the ice forms. 
Specimens in full plumage are rarely taken in Wisconsin. 
