COLYMBID^: LOONS. 
789 
61. Family COL YMBID^ : Loons. 
_ ^ill Stout, Straight, com- 
pressed, tapering, acute, parag- 
* nathous, entirely horny. Nos- 
trils narrowly linear, their upper 
edge lobed. Head completely 
feathered, the antiae prominent, 
acute, reaching the nostrils; no 
crests nor ruffs. Wings strong, 
with stiff primaries and short 
inner quills. Legs completely 
S ^ posterior, buried, feathered on to 
il^r the heel-joint ; tarsi entirely re- 
ticulate, extremely compressed, 
the back edge smooth; toes 
^.^^mmmm^^^^^^^^msf^ J four, the anterior palmate, the 
posterior semilateral and having 
^1 a lobe connecting it wath the 
base of the inner. Tail short, 
but well formed, of many feath- 
i ii w iMWii Carotids double. Tibia 
fe«:fe^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ssEiEr"c with long apophysis. Sternum 
with long, broad, central projec- 
tion backward, and shorter lat- 
FiG. 529. - Loons. (From Michelet.) q^hI processes. Cceca present. 
Accessory semitendinosus absent. Back spotted. Head of young not striped. Loons are 
large heavy birds witli broad flattened body and rather long sinuous neck, abundant on the 
coasts and large inland waters of the Northern Hemisphere. They are noted for their powers 
of diving, being able to evade the shot from a gun by disappearing at the flash, and to swim 
many fathoms under water. They are migratory, breeding in high latitudes, being generally 
dispersed further south in winter. They are prsecocial, and lay two or three dark-colored 
spotted eggs in a rude nest of rushes by the water's edge. The voice is extremely loud, harsh, 
and resonant. The sexes are alike, the 9 smaller than the ^ ; the young different. There 
is but one genus, with only three well-determined species. 
COLY3I'BUS. (Gr. koXvu^os, kolumbos, a diver.) LoONS. Character as above. 
Analysis of Species and Varieties (Adults). 
Head and neck black, with green, blue, and purple reflection, and patches of white streaks. 
Bill mostly or wholly black, the culmen, commissure, and gonys all gently curved ; feathers falling 
short of middle of nostrils; culmen 3.00 or less ; gape 4.00 or more ; height of bill at nostrils usually 
under 1.00. Gloss of head and neck mostly green ; white spots of back nearly square . . torquafus 840 
Bill mostly yellow ; culmen nearly straight ; commissure straight ; gonys straight ; feathers reaching 
middle of nostrils ; culmen about 3.75; gape about 5.00; height of bill at nostrils usually over 1.00. 
Gloss of head and neck mostly blue; white spots of back longer than broad adamsi 841 
Top of head bluish-ash, front of neck blue-black; neck with white stripes. 
Larger : wing about 12.00 ; bill about 2.50, stout, with convex culmen arcticus 842 
Smaller: wing about 11.00 ; bill about 2.00, slender, with straight culmen pacificus 843. 
Throat and sides of head bluish-ash; front of neck with red patch septentrionalis 844 
C. torqua'tus. (Lat. to7'quatus, collared. Figs. 529, 530.) Common Loon. Great North- 
ern Diver. Adult : Bill black, the tip and cutting edges sometimes yellowish. Feet black. 
Iris red. Head and neck deep glossy greenish-black, with lustrous purplish reflections on the 
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