TIIE LOON FAMILY 
301 
how the eggs ever receive warmth sufficient to 
hatch them is a mystery. 
Occasionally a clump of rushes with a floating 
nest breaks loose from its moorings, and floats 
away. Some friends of mine once discovered 
a derelict nest, with the Grebe sitting serenely 
upon it, floating about in Lake Ontario, whither 
it had evidently been borne on the current of 
Johnson’s Creek. Doubtless it is a real grief 
to Grebes that they cannot hatch their eggs 
under water! 
Its prevailing color is brownish-gray, with 
black throat and chin. Its bill is dull white, 
with a broad, perpendicular band of black 
crossing it at the middle, like a rubber band to 
hold the mandibles together. In size this 
bird is about as small as a green-winged teal. 
THE LOON FAMILY. 
Gaviiclae. 
The Loon, or Great Northern Diver , 1 is a 
large, showy, black-and-white bird, of such 
The Pied-Billed Grebe, also called Dabchick, 
and Diedipper, is a Pan-American bird, being 
found throughout North and South America 
from Cape Horn to the Mackenzie River, and 
from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Its phenome- 
nally wide range includes Cuba, several others 
of the larger islands of the West Indies, and the 
Bermudas. 
striking personality that when once well seen it 
is not easily forgotten. In bulk it is as large as 
an ordinary goose, and when standing erect, on 
land, its height is about 25 inches. Its neck 
and head are large and jet black, and the upper 
portion of the former is encircled by a white 
collar which is formed of upright lines of white 
1 Gav'i-a im'ber. 
COMMON MURRE. 
THE LOON. 
