LOONS 
9 
Nest. — A floating or anchored raft of water-soaked plant stems among 
tules in shallow water. Eggs : 4 to 8, soiled whitish. 
Every boy who has carried a gun and crept through tall grass to 
the edges of ponds and lakes, or has followed the creeks, cutting 
from bend to bend, and peering cautiously up stream and down, 
has found himself more than once face to face with a little gray 
duck, — only it was n’t a duck — which when he raised his gun dived 
just as he pulled the trigger, so the shot scattered over the sur¬ 
face of the water. No amount of waiting or searching the banks 
did any good, — the bird was never seen again, dead or alive. There 
was a mystery about it, and when some one older and wiser than 
he told him it was a water witch or hell diver, the mystery was 
only half solved. Where did it go? How could it stay under 
water through the half hour that he waited for it to come to the 
surface ? Had he been just around the next bend he might possibly 
have seen a gray bill and a pair of dark eyes that came up out of 
the water close to the bank, stayed just long enough for a good 
breath of air, and then disappeared for another long swim below the 
surface. 
Fortunately for the dabchick, its dress is all in dull colors, and as 
no one wants to borrow its plumes it may be hoped that, like the 
poor, the little plebeian may be always with us. Vernon Bailey. 
FAMILY GAVIIDiE: LOONS. 
GENUS GAVIA. 
General Characters. — Tail feathers short and stiff; front toes fully 
webbed, hind toe small; head and neck velvety, never crested. 
KEY TO SPECIES. 
1. Tarsus longer than inner toe and claw .... 
1'. Tarsus shorter than inner toe and claw. 
2. Head and neck black. 
2'. Back of head and neck smoky gray. 
3. Larger, wing 12.55, back of head dark gray 
3'. Smaller, wing 11.54, back of head light gray 
lumme, p. 11. 
imber, p. 9. 
. arctica, p. 10. 
. pacifica, p. 10. 
7. Gavia imber (Gunn.). Loon: Great Northern Diver. 
