so that it is enabled to traverse a large extent of country on wing.
When travelling, or even when only raised from its nest, it moves
through the air with all the swiftness of the other species of its
tribe, generally passing directly from one point to another, however
distant it may be. Its long transits are at times performed at so
great an elevation, that its form can scarcely be distinguished, and
yet, even then, in calm weather, the noise of its wings striking the
air comes distinctly on your ear. I have seen them thus, on their way
towards Labrador, passing over the head waters of the Bay of Fundy,
to cross the Gulf of St Lawrence. Whenever it chances to alight on
the water, in the course of its long journeys, it almost immediately
dives, as if to taste the water, and judge whether it contains food
suited to its appetite. On emerging, and after having somewhat raised
the fore part of its body, shaken its wings, and by a strong shiver
rearranged its plumage, it emits its loud echoing call-note, to induce,
perchance, some traveller of its tribe to alight for awhile, that they
may communicate to each other their experience of the past, or their
hopes of the future. There is an absurd notion, entertained by persons
unacquainted with the nature of this bird, that its plaintive cries
are a sure indication of violent storms. Sailors, in particular, are
ever apt to consider these call-notes as portentous. In the course of
a voyage from Charleston to the Florida Keys, in May 1832, I several
times saw and heard Loons travelling eastward; but, notwithstanding all
the dire forebodings of the crew, who believed that a hurricane was
at hand, our passage was exceedingly pleasant. Although I have heard
the notes of the Loon in rainy and blowy weather, yet I never heard
them so frequent or so loud, both by day and by night, as on the Ohio,
during that delightful and peculiarly American autumnal season called
the Indian Summer; when, although not so much as a cloud was seen for
weeks, I have frequently observed the passing birds checking their
flight, or heard the murmuring plash which they produced on alighting
upon the placid water, to rest and refresh themselves.
Another strange notion, not deserving of credit, although you will find
it gravely announced in books, is that, when the Loon is breeding,
it will dart down suddenly from the air, and alight securely in its
nest. I have never witnessed such a procedure, although I have closely
watched, from under cover, at least, twenty pairs. On such occasions I
have seen the incubating bird pass over the dear spot several times in
succession, gradually rounding and descending so as at last to alight
obliquely on the water, which it always did at a considerable distance
from the nest, and did not approach it until after glancing around and
listening attentively, as if to assure itself that it was not watched,
when it would swim to the shore, and resume its office.
The Loon breeds in various parts of the United States, from Maryland
to Maine. I have ascertained that it nestles in the former of these
States, on the Susquehannah river, as well as in the districts between
Kentucky and Canada, and on our great lakes. Dr RICHARDSON states that
it is found breeding as far north as the 70th degree of latitude. The
situation and form of the nest differ according to circumstances. Some
of those which breed in the State of Maine, place it on the hillocks
of weeds and mud prepared by the musk-rat, on the edges of the lakes,
or at some distance from them among the rushes. Other nests, found on
the head-waters of the Wabash River, were situated on the mud, amid
the rank weeds, more than ten yards from the water. Authors have said
that only one pair breed on a lake; but I have found three pairs, with
their nests, on a pond not exceeding a quarter of a mile in length,
in the State of Maine. One that I saw after the young had left it,
on Cayuga Lake, in 1824, was almost afloat, and rudely attached to
the rushes, more than forty yards from the land, though its base was
laid on the bottom, the water being eight or nine inches deep. Others
examined in Labrador were placed on dry land, several yards from the
water, and raised to the height of nearly a foot above the decayed
moss on which they were laid. But, in cases when the nest was found
at any distance from the water, we discovered a well-beaten path
leading to it, and very much resembling those made by the Beaver,
to which the hunters give the name of “crawls.” The nest, wherever
placed, is bulky, and formed of the vegetable substances found in the
immediate vicinity, such as fresh or withered grasses and herbaceous
plants. The internal part, or the true nest, which is rarely less
than a foot, and is sometimes fifteen inches, in diameter, is raised
upon the external or inferior mass, to the height of seven or eight
inches. Such was one found on the 5th July 1835, in Labrador, and
which was placed within three yards of the edge of a considerable
pond of limpid water, supposed to have been produced by the melting
of the snow, and upwards of a mile distant from the sea. Of the many
nests which I have examined, I have found more containing three than
two eggs, and I am confident that the former number is that which more
frequently occurs, although many European, and some American writers,
who probably never saw a nest of this bird, allege the contrary. The
eggs average three inches and three quarters in length, by two inches
and a quarter in their greatest breadth, and thus are considerably
elongated, being particularly narrowed from the bulge to the smaller
end, which is rather pointed. They are of a dull greenish-ochry tint,
rather indistinctly marked with spots of dark umber, which are more
numerous toward the larger extremity. The weight of two of these eggs,
containing young nearly ready to emerge, was ten ounces and a half. In
Maine the Loon lays fully a month earlier than in Labrador, and about
the same period as on the Wabash.
On approaching the female while sitting on her eggs, I assured myself
that she incubates with her body laid flat upon them, in the same way
as the Domestic Duck, and that, on perceiving the intruder, she squats
close, and so remains until he is almost over her, when she springs up
with great force, and makes at once for the water, in a scrambling and
sliding manner, pushing herself along the ground. On gaining the water,
she dives at once, emerges at a great distance, and very rarely suffers
herself to be approached within gunshot. Sometimes they swim so deeply
immersed as scarcely to be perceptible, and keep as much as possible
among the rushes and other water plants. When the eggs are on the eve
of being hatched, the mother, when disturbed, often cries loudly and
dismally for some time, but seldom flies off. At other times, when I
found the eggs to have been recently laid, the bird, on reaching the
water, and diving, swam lightly, flapping its wings, drank once or
twice, and moved about at a respectful distance. On such occasions,
should you persist in watching it, it rises on wing and flies off.
Should you not mark the spot in which the nest is, but leave it to go
in pursuit of the bird, you may search for hours before finding it,
for the path leading from the water to it is generally covered over
by the herbage. Once while approaching a spot in which I knew a Loon
to be engaged in forming her nest, I was disappointed at not finding
her at work: her keen sense of hearing had apprised her of my purpose,
and cunningly must she have slipped away, for, on finding her absent,
although I had not heard any noise, I happened to look toward the
water, and there she was, gliding off in the quiet manner usual on such
occasions.
The young of the Loon are covered at birth with a kind of black
stiff down, and in a day or two after are led to the water by their
mother. They swim and dive extremely well even at this early stage
of their existence, and after being fed by regurgitation for about
a fortnight, receive portions of fish, aquatic insects, and small
reptiles, until they are able to maintain themselves. During this
period, grey feathers appear among the down of the back and belly,
and the black quill-feathers of the wings and tail gradually elongate.
They are generally very fat, and so clumsy as to be easily caught on
land, if their retreat to the water be cut off. But should you miss
your opportunity, and the birds succeed in gaining the liquid element,
into which they drop like so many Terrapins, you will be astonished to
see them as it were run over the water with extreme celerity, leaving
behind them a distinct furrow. This power of traversing the surface of
the water is possessed not only by the young and old of this species,
but by all other kinds of swimmers, including even Gallinules and
Coots. When the young are well able to fly, the mother entices them to
remove from the pond or lake on which they have been bred, and leads
them on wing to the nearest part of the sea, after which she leaves
them to shift for themselves. Now and then, after this period, the end
of August or beginning of September, I have still seen the young of
a brood, two or three in number, continuing together until they were
induced to travel southward, when they generally set out singly.
Having given you a figure of a young bird, taken in October 1819 from
a specimen obtained on the Ohio, I will not here trouble you with its
description, but merely state that the young undergo their first moult
in December, when they are seen singularly patched with portions of
new plumage beautifully speckled with white, on a bed of almost uniform
ash-brown. I was told, while in the State of Maine, that if the young
were caught soon after being hatched, and before they had been in the
water, they would, if thrown into it, immediately follow a paddled
canoe anywhere; but, as I have not myself made the experiment, I cannot
speak of this as a fact.
Although it has been generally asserted that Loons cannot walk or run
in an efficient manner, I feel assured that on emergency the case is
very different. An instance which occurred to my youngest son, JOHN
WOODHOUSE, who accompanied me to Labrador, may here be related. One
day, when he was in pursuit of some King Ducks, a Loon chanced to
fly immediately over him within shooting distance of his enormous
double-barrelled gun. The moment was propitious, and on firing he was
glad to see the bird fall broken-winged on the bare granitic rocks.
As if perfectly aware of its danger, it immediately rose erect on its
feet, and inclining its body slightly forward, ran off, stumbled, rose
again, and getting along in this manner actually reached the water
before my son, who is by no means slow of foot. The space traversed
was fully an hundred yards, and the water to an equal distance was
not more than ankle-deep. The bird and its pursuer ran swiftly through
the water, and just as both reached a sudden break about four feet in
depth, the Loon, which had been wounded elsewhere than in the wing,
expired and floated at the disposal of its enemy, who brought it on
board the Ripley; when I entered this anecdote in my journal.
These birds are so very strong and hardy that some of the old ones
remain in Maine and Massachusetts until all the fresh waters are
frozen, first leaving the quiet lakes and ponds, then the slow streams,
and lastly the turbulent pools below waterfalls, which latter they do
not quit until they are overhung by icicles and deserted of fish. On
the other hand, this species returns northward at a later period than
most others that breed in high latitudes. I have witnessed the arrival
of some on the coast of Labrador, after they had crossed the Gulf of St
Lawrence, as late as the 20th of June, after which they had scarcely
four months to seek out a breeding place, lay their eggs, hatch and
rear their young, and with them remove southward, before the rigour of
winter commenced.
The Great Northern Diver is a heavy-bodied bird, and generally swims
rather deep in the water, more especially if apprehensive of immediate
danger, when scarcely more than two inches in height of its back
can be seen above the surface. As its body is more flattened than
that of the Cormorant, this circumstance might seem to favour the
action in question; but other species less depressed exhibit the same
peculiarity; and I have thought that in all of these the internal
structure alone can account for this peculiar faculty.
With the exception of that most expert of all divers, the Anhinga, and
the Great Auk, the Loon is perhaps the most accomplished. Whether it
be fishing in deep water amid rolling billows, or engaged in eluding
its foes, it disappears beneath the surface so suddenly, remains so
long in the water, and rises at so extraordinary a distance, often in
a direction quite the reverse of that supposed to be followed by it,
that your eyes become wearied in searching for it, and you renounce
the wish of procuring it out of sheer vexation. At least, this has
very frequently happened to me; nay, I have at times abandoned the
chase when the bird was so severely wounded as to be obliged to dive
immediately beside my boat, and had it not died of exhaustion and
floated near enough to be seized by me, I felt as if I could not have
pulled my oars any longer, and was willing to admit that I was outdone
by a Loon.
In Labrador, where these birds were abundant, my son JOHN one day shot
at one on wing, which fell upon the water to appearance quite dead,
and remained on its back motionless until we had leisurely rowed to
it, when a sailor put out his hand to take it up. The Loon, however, to
our surprise, suddenly sprung up, and dived, and while we stood amazed,
watching its appearance, we saw it come up at the distance of about an
hundred yards, shake its head, and disgorge a quantity of fish mixed
with blood; on which it dived again, and seemed lost to us. We rowed
however to the spot in all haste, and the moment it rose, sent another
shot after it, which terminated its career. On examining it afterwards,
we found it quite riddled by the heavy shot.
If ever so slightly wounded, the Loon prefers diving to flying off, and
all your endeavours to kill it are almost sure to prove unavailing,
You may shoot at it under such circumstances, but you will lose both
your time and your ammunition. Its keenness of sight defies the best
percussion-locked gun, for it is generally deep in the water before the
shot reaches the spot where it has been. When fatigued with diving in
the ordinary manner, it will sink backwards, like a Grebe or a Frog,
make for some concealed spot among the rushes, and there lie until
your eyes ache with searching, and your stomach admonishes you of the
propriety of retiring.
Loons are now and then caught in fishermen’s nets, and are soon
drowned. I have also caught them with hooks fastened to lines laid
across the Ohio, but on no such occasion have I taken the bird alive. A
method of shooting these birds, which I have often practised, and which
was several times successfully employed by our Labrador party, may
here be related. On seeing a Loon on the water, at whatever distance,
the sportsman immediately places himself under the nearest cover on
the shore, and remains there as carefully concealed as possible. A
few minutes are allowed to pass, to give the wary and sharp-sighted
bird all due confidence; during which time the gun, charged with large
shot, is laid in a convenient position. The gunner then takes his
cap or pocket-handkerchief, which if brightly coloured is so much the
better, and raising it in one hand, waves it three or four times, and
then suddenly conceals it. The bird commonly detects the signal at
once, and, probably imagining the object thus exhibited to be one of
its own species, gradually advances, emitting its love-notes, which
resemble a coarse laugh, as it proceeds. The sportsman imitates these
notes, making them loud and yet somewhat mellow, waving his cap or
kerchief at the same time, and this he continues to do at intervals.
The Loon, in order to arrive more quickly, dives, perhaps rises within
fifty yards of him, and calling less loudly, advances with considerable
caution. He shews the signal less frequently, imitates the notes of
the bird more faintly, and carefully keeps himself concealed, until
the Loon, having approached within twenty or even ten paces, dives
and on emerging raises itself up to shake its wings, when off goes
the shot, and the deluded bird floats dead on the water. Many species
of Ducks are procured in nearly the same manner. The male Turkey, in
the gobbling season, and the Stag in autumn, may also be drawn within
shot by the same means. I once “tolled” two Loons with my hat from a
distance of nearly half a mile, and although they were at one time so
near to me that I could clearly perceive the colour of their eyes, I
had no sure opportunity of firing at them, as it was in the pairing
season, and they never once dived, or raised their wings to flap them,
so that, knowing the extreme agility with which they disappear when
they have seen a gun snap, I judged it useless to shoot. Until my visit
to Labrador I had supposed, agreeably to the common belief, that the
Loons always repose at night on the water, which, however, I have since
assured myself they rarely if ever do.
Colonel MONTAGU, than whom none has written more correctly on the
habits of the birds of Great Britain, having procured a wounded Loon,
placed it in a pond, and observed the manner in which it made its way
under the surface of the water. “In swimming and diving,” he remarks,
“only the legs are used and not the wings, as in the Guillemot and Auk
tribes, and by their position so far behind, and their little deviation
from the line of the body, the bird is enabled to propel itself in the
water with great velocity, in a straight line, as well as turn with
astonishing quickness.” This I have no doubt was the case with the
individual observed; but that this is not the usual mode of proceeding
of the species is equally true. Having myself seen Loons pass and
repass under boats, at the distance of several feet from the surface,
and propel themselves both with their feet, and their half-extended
wings, I am inclined to believe that when not wounded, and when
pursuing their prey, they usually employ all the limbs.
My friend THOMAS NUTTALL, who kept one for some time, gives the
following account of its manners while in his possession. “A young
bird of this kind which I obtained in the Salt Marsh at Chelsea
Beach, and transferred to a fish-pond, made a good deal of plaint,
and would sometimes wander out of his more natural element, and hide
and bask in the grass. On these occasions he lay very still until
nearly approached, and then slid into the pond and uttered his usual
plaint. When out at a distance he made the same cautious efforts to
hide, and would commonly defend himself in great anger, by darting
at the intruder, and striking powerfully with his dagger-like bill.
This bird, with a pink-coloured iris-like albinos, appeared to suffer
from the glare of broad day-light, and was inclined to hide from its
effects, but became very active towards the dusk of the evening. The
pupil of the eye in this individual, like that of nocturnal animals,
appeared indeed dilatable; and the one in question often put down his
head and eyes into the water to observe the situation of his prey.
This bird was a most expert and indefatigable diver, and remained down
sometimes for several minutes, often swimming under water, and as it
were flying with the velocity of an arrow in the air. Though at length
inclining to become docile, and shewing no alarm when visited, it
constantly betrayed its wandering habits, and every night was found to
have waddled to some hiding place, where it seemed to prefer hunger to
the loss of liberty, and never could be restrained from exercising its
instinct to move onwards to some secure or more suitable asylum.”
The same valued friend has corroborated the result of my observations
respecting the number of eggs usually laid by this species, by stating
as follows: “About the 11th of June, through the kindness of Dr J. W.
HARRIS, I received three eggs, which had been taken from the nest of a
Loon, made in a hummock, or elevated grassy hillock, at Sebago Pond, in
New Hampshire.”
The range of this species is immense. It occurs on the waters that fall
into the Pacific Ocean, and has been observed on the Columbia River.
In the Fur Countries it is plentiful; and, as I have already stated,
it breeds in many parts of the United States. It is found equally in
Europe, and the northern parts of Asia. In all these countries it moves
southward on the approach of winter, and returns when the mild weather
commences in spring.
Unlike the Cormorant, the Loon usually swallows its food under the
water, unless when it happens to bring up a shell-fish or a crustaceous
animal, which it munches for a while before it swallows it. Fishes of
numerous kinds, aquatic insects, water-lizards, frogs, and leeches,
have been found by me in its stomach, in which there is also generally
much coarse gravel, and sometimes the roots of fresh-water plants.
Although the flesh of the Loon is not very palatable, being tough,
rank, and dark coloured, I have seen it much relished by many lovers of
good-living, especially at Boston, where it was not unfrequently served
almost raw at the table of the house where I boarded.
A female bird particularly examined by me presented the following
appearances. From the point of the bill to the end of the tail it
measured 34 inches; to the claws 41; the extended wings were 71; the
bill measured 5 inches along the gape; the breadth of the body was
8 inches, its depth only four; the wings were 2 inches shorter than
the tail; and the weight was 10 lb. 11 oz. avoirdupois. The first
primary was longest. The trachea, which was even and flattened, being
in diameter about 5/8 of an inch by 1/2 inch, was 16 inches long. The
eggs were numerous. The gizzard was moderate, and contained many large
pebbles. The intestines were 7 feet long, and about the same size as
a Swan’s quill. Every bone and sinew was strong and tough. The tongue
resembled in shape and size that of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. The
bones of the wing and leg were almost solid, the cavity for the marrow
being very small. All the bones of this specimen were presented to Mr
THOMAS ALLIS, of the Friend’s Retreat, near York.
My friend Captain JAMES CLARK ROSS, of the Royal Navy of England, once
placed at my disposal a specimen of the Loon procured in a very high
latitude, and which, having closely inspected it, I found to differ
from the one represented in the plate, only in having the point of
the bill slightly elevated or recurved, and of a fine yellow tint. Dr
RICHARDSON informed me that, on one of his arduous northern journeys,
he saw a very large and handsomely crested Diver, which, although
somewhat prematurely, I propose honouring with the name of _Colymbus
Richardsoni_.
COLYMBUS GLACIALIS, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 221.
Adult.—_Lath._ Ind. Ornith. p. 799.
COLYMBUS IMMER, _Linn._ Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 222.
Young.—_Lath._ Ind. Ornith. p. 800.
COLYMBUS GLACIALIS, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of
United States, p. 420.
GREAT NORTHERN DIVER or LOON, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol. ix.
pl. 74, fig. 3.
COLYMBUS GLACIALIS, _Richards. and Swains._ Fauna Bor. Amer.
vol. ii. p. 474.
LOON, or GREAT NORTHERN DIVER, _Nuttall_, Manual, vol. ii. p.
513.
Adult Male. Plate CCCVI. Fig. 1.
Bill as long as the head, straight, stout, much compressed, tapering to
a point. Upper mandible with the dorsal line descending and slightly
convex towards the end, the ridge convex, narrowed towards the point,
the sides convex beyond the nostrils, the edges sharp and considerably
inflected, the tip narrow and sharpish. Nasal groove short, nostrils
basal, linear, direct, pervious. Lower mandible with the angle
extremely narrow, and extending beyond the middle, the dorsal line
straight and sloping upwards to the point, the ridge convex and narrow,
the edges sharp and involute; the tip attenuated.