144 
LOONS 
I have seen several thousand in a day (March 9, 1907) east of Hatteras 
when sailing from New York to Florida. 
1899. Mead, J. C., Journ. Me. Orn. Soc., I, 21-24 (habits). 
The Yellow-billed Loon ( 8 Gavia adamsi\ of northwest Alaska and 
northern Siberia is of accidental occurrence in Greenland. It closely 
resembles G. immer but has the bill yellow. 
9. Gavia arctica {Linn.) . — Black-throated Loon. Ads. in summer . — 
Throat, foreneck, back, wings, and tail black, with purplish and bluish 
reflections; a band of white streaks on throat; sides of neck, back, and wings 
streaked, barred, or spotted with white; top of head and nape gray; breast 
and belly white; a blackish band at the base of the under tail-coverts. Ads. 
in winter and Im. — Similar in color to U. immer , not spotted above r with 
white. L., 27*00; W., 1L00; Tar., 2*60; B., 2'00. 
Remarks . — Immature and winter birds may be distinguished from the 
corresponding stage of immer by their small size; from stellata by grayish 
margins instead of white spots, bars, or margins on the upperparts. 
Range . — N. part of N. Hemisphere. Breeds from Kotzebue Sound, 
Alaska, w. along n. coast of Siberia, on islands north of Europe, and from 
Cumberland Sound south to Ungava; winters in the s. Canadian Provinces; 
casually s. to Colo., Nebr., Iowa, n. Ohio, and Long Island, N. Y. 
Long Island, A. V., one record. N. Ohio, casual on Lake Erie in winter. 
Nest, a slight depression in the ground within a few feet of the water. 
Eggs , 2, grayish olive-brown, spotted or scrawled with blackish, 3*20 x 2*10. 
Date , St. Michael’s, Alaska, June 6. 
This species is a very rare winter visitant to the northern border 
of the United States. The most southern record of its occurrence is 
April 29, 1893, Sandpoint lighthouse, Long Island Sound. (Dutcher, 
Auk , X, p. 265.) 
11. Gavia stellata (Pont.). Bed-throated Loon. Ads. in summer . — 
Back, wings, and tail fuscous, more or less spotted with white; head and 
neck ashy gray; foreneck chestnut ; back of the neck black, streaked with 
white ; breast and belly white ; longer under tail-coverts and band at the base 
of shorter ones fuscous. Ads. in winter and Im . — Similar to G. immer , but 
back spotted with white. L., 25*00; W., 11*00; Tar., 2'60; B., 2‘00. 
Range . — N. part of N. Hemisphere. In Am. breeds from cen. Keewatin, 
cen. Que., N. B., and N. F. and n. ; winters from s. B. C. to s. Calif., and 
from Maine, and the Great Lakes to Fla.; casual in interior to Mont., 
Mo., Nebr., and Ariz.; breeds also throughout Arctic Europe and Asia, and 
winters s. to the Mediterranean and s. China. 
Washington, rare W. V., Oct. 20 to spring. Long Island, common T. V., 
Sept. 14-Dec. 30; Mch. 30-May 11. Ossining, casual T. V. Cambridge, 
one instance, Oct. N. Ohio, casual on Lake Erie, in winter. Glen Ellyn, very 
rare T. Y. spring only, Apl. 14-17. SE. Minn., rare W. R. 
Nest, a slight depression in the ground within a few feet of the water. 
Eggs, 2, grayish olive-brown, sometimes tinged with green and spotted 
with blackish, 2-80 x 1-75. Date, Resolution Is., H. B., June 9; Iceland, 
May 23. 
In the United States we know this bird only as a winter visitant 
when it occurs along our coasts, and, less commonly, on the larger 
bodies of water inland. At this season it resembles the Loon in habits. 
Nelson describes its notes as a harsh gr-r-ga , gr-r y gr-r-gct, gr-r . 
