In summer these Grebes breed, commonly throughout the NorthWest. Here is what is said about them in Mr. Thompson's "Birds of Manitoba": "Very abundant summer residents on every lake, slough or pond large enough to give them sufficient water privilege, arriving as soon as the ice is gone and departing when their haunts freeze over." Black; below from the breast white, with dark touches on the sides and vent; back with numerous square white spots; head and neck iridescent with violet and green, having a patch of sharp white streaks on each side of the neck and another on the throat; bill black. Young:-Dark gray above, the feathers with paler edges; below, white from the bill, the sides dusky; bill yellowishgreen and dusky. Length, 2-3 feet; extent, about 4; wing, about 14 inches; tarsus, 3 or more; longest toe and claw, 4 or more; bill, 3 or less, at base 1 deep and wide, the culmen, commissure and gonys all gently curved. HAB.-Northern part of northern hemisphere. In North America breeds from the northern tier of States northward; ranges in winter south to the Gulf of Mexico. LOON. 31 Nest, a hollow in the sand near the water's edge, sometimes lined with grass, weeds, etc. Eggs, two or three, olive-brown, spotted and blotched with very dark brown. The Loon, on account of his large size, is conspicuous wherever he appears, and his loud and melancholy cry is often heard at night during rough weather, when the bird himself is invisible. Many pairs raise their young by the remote lakes and ponds throughout the country, but they all retire farther south to spend the winter. As soon as the ice disappears they return, mostly in pairs, and by the end of May have chosen their summer residence. The Loon, in common with some other water-fowl, has a curious habit, when its curiosity is excited by anything it does not understand, of pointing its bill straight upwards, and turning its head rapidly round in every direction, as if trying to solve the mystery under consideration. Once when in my shooting skiff, behind the rushes, drifting down the bay before a light wind, I came upon a pair of these birds feeding about twenty yards apart. They did not take much notice of what must have seemed to them a clump of floating rushes, and being close enough to one of them I thought to secure it, but the cap snapped. The birds hearing the noise, and still seeing nothing living, rushed together, and got their bills up, as described, for a consultation. So close did they keep to each other that I shot them both dead at forty yards with the second barrel. In his notes on the "Birds of Hudson's Bay," Dr. Bell says: "The Loon, or Great Northern Diver, is at home in and around Hudson's Bay. In the spring, as soon as the water opens at the mouths of the rivers, these birds appear in incredible numbers, as if by a previous understanding, about a common meeting place. At such a time they may be much more easily approached than usual. These birds are said to spear the fish with the bill closed, and to bring them to the surface so that they may turn them endways for the purpose of swallowing The gulls, hovering overhead, and seeing what is going on down in the clear water, watch for the moment the fish is raised to the surface, when they swoop down and carry it off. When many hungry gulls are present, this process is repeated till the patience of the Loon is quite exhausted." In Alaska, Nelson says: "Throughout the interior of the territory this bird is a common summer resident, and was found breeding abundantly at the western extremity of the Aleutian Islands by Dall, The skins of the birds are used by the natives in their birdskin clothing, and are specially prized for tool-bags." Back and under parts much as in the last species; upper part of head and hind neck, bluish-ash or hoary-gray; fore neck purplish-black, with a patch of white streaks; bill, black. The young resemble those of that species, but will be known by their inferior size. Length, under 2 feet; extent, about 3; wing, 13 inches or less; tarsus, 3; bill, about 24. In North America HAB.- Northern part of the northern hemisphere. This is a much more northern bird than the preceding, for it is seldom met with in the United States, and then mostly in winter in immature plumage. In its migratory course it no doubt visits the waters of Ontario, and should be looked for by those who have opportunity to do so. A pair of these birds, found in the neighborhood of Toronto, was included in a collection that was sent to the Paris Exposition in 1866, and I once saw an individual in Hamilton Bay under circumstances which prevented me from shooting it, though I was quite close enough, and satisfied of its identity. It was on a still, dull day in the early part of April, and the ice on the bay was broken up and floating about in loose flakes. Water-fowl of different kinds were coming rapidly in and pitching down into the open water. I was out in my shooting skiff in search of specimens, when the wind suddenly blew up from the east, and I was caught among the drifting ice. Everything in the skiff got soaking wet. I broke both paddles trying to force a passage, and for a time was at the mercy of the elements. While drifting along in this condition I came close to a Black-throated Diver in similar trouble, for it was caught among the ice, unable to rise, and evidently afraid to dive, not knowing where it might come up We looked sympathizingly at each other, it uttered a low whining cry, and we drifted apart. I got safe to land, and it is to be hoped the rare bird reached the open water and got off in safety. We did not meet again. Not having seen the species recently, nor heard of its capture by others, I consider it a very rare visitor to these inland waters. In Dr. Wheaton's exhaustive report on the "Birds of Ohio," mention is made of an individual having been shot in Sandusky Bay in the fall of 1880, but the line of its migratory course is probably along the sea coast. Dr. Coues, when speaking in his "Birds of the North-West" of the BLACK-THROATED LOON. 33 familiarity of the Pacific Black-throated Diver in the harbor of San Pedro, in southern California, says: "They even came up to the wharves, and played about as unconcernedly as domestic ducks. They constantly swam around the vessels lying at anchor in the harbor, and all their motions both on and under the clear water could be studied to as much advantage as if the birds had been placed in artificial tanks for the purpose. Now, two or three would ride lightly over the surface, with the neck gracefully curved, propelled with idle strokes of their broad paddles to this side or to that, one leg after the other stretched at ease almost horizontally backwards, while their flashing eyes first directed upwards with curious sidelong glances, then peering into the depths below, sought for some attractive morsel. In an instant, with the peculiar motion impossible to describe, they would disappear beneath the surface, leaving a little foam and bubbles to mark where they had gone down, and I could follow their course under water; see them shoot with marvellous swiftness through the limpid element, as, urged by powerful strokes of the webbed feet and beats of the half open wings, they flew rather than swam; see them dart out the arrow-like bill, transfix an unlucky fish and lightly rise to the surface again. While under water the bubbles of air carried down with them cling to the feathers, and they seem bespangled with glittering jewels, borrowed for the time from their native element, and lightly parted with when they leave it. They arrange their feathers with a shiver, shaking off the last sparkling drop, and the feathers look as dry as if the bird had never been under the The fish is swallowed headforemost with a peculiar jerking motion, and the bird again' swims at ease with the same graceful curve of the neck." water. It is said to be common in Norway and Sweden, and more rarely has been found breeding near some of the lonely lochs in the north of Scotland. In the "Birds of Alaska," Mr. Nelson says of this species: "This Loon is very common all along the American shore of the sea, and about Kotzebue Sound; they are also numerous on the large streams and marshes of the interior. The skins of these birds, as of other heavily plumaged water-fowl, are much used by the natives from St. Michaels south for clothing. The natives snare and spear them in the shallow ponds and lagoons where they breed, and Dall mentions having seen one dress containing the skins from over one hundred loons' throats." URINATOR LUMME (GUNN.). 7. Red-throated Loon. (11) Blackish; below, white; dark along the sides and on the vent and crissum ; most of the head and fore neck, bluish-gray; the throat with a large chestnut patch; hind neck, sharply streaked with white on a blackish ground; bill,'black. Young have not these marks on the head and neck, but a profusion of small, sharp, circular or oval white spots on the back. Size of the last, or rather less. HAB. - Northern part of northern hemisphere, migrating southward in ft de winter nearly across the United States. 11-11-1944 brid སྙ་ ་ Breeds in high latitude. Eggs, two in number, pale green spotted with brown, deposited in a hollow in the ground close to the water's edge. Audubon found this species breeding at Labrador, and in the Fauna Boreali Americana it is spoken of as "frequenting the shores of Hudson's Bay up to the extremity of Melville Peninsula." Large numbers of these birds visit the waters of Southern Ontario in March and April, about the time of the breaking up of the ice, but an adult with the red-throat patch is scarcely ever seen. The one in my collection was procured out on Lake Ontario at midsummer, having for some reason failed to follow the flocks to the far north. In the fall very few are seen, their route to the south being in some other direction. All the birds of this class have a most ungainly gait on land, and when surprised away from the water are often taken by the hand before they can get up to fly. On the water or under its surface their motions are exceedingly graceful. Dr. Bell found this species on both sides of Hudson's Bay, but only in spring and autumn. Mr. Nelson says regarding it: "Throughout Alaska the present bird is by far the most abundant species of Loon. At St. Michael's and the Yukon Delta they arrive with the first open water, from May 12th to 20th, and by the end of the month are present in large numbers. Their arrival is at once announced by the hoarse, grating cries which the birds utter as they fly from place to place or float upon the water. When the ponds are open in the marshes the Redthroated Loons take possession, and are extremely noisy all through the first part of summer. The harsh cry arising everywhere from the marshes during the entire twenty-four hours, renders this note one of the most characteristic which greets the ear in spring in those northern wilds. The Russian name, Gegara, derived from the birds' notes, is a very appropriate one. |