. Birds of America;. Birds -- North America. LOONS Order Pygopodcs; suborder Ccpplii: family Gaviidcc S a family the Loons of the present seem to be very much the same kind of birds as were those of which we have fossil remains in strata representing what the geologists call the Miocene Epoch of the Tertiary Period. They are birds of considerable size, and are famous especially for their skill and swiftness in swimming and diving and for their weird and unearthly cries. Their quickness in diving to escape danger is truly astonishing, and has, nat- urally enough, furnished occasion for frequent
. Birds of America;. Birds -- North America. LOONS Order Pygopodcs; suborder Ccpplii: family Gaviidcc S a family the Loons of the present seem to be very much the same kind of birds as were those of which we have fossil remains in strata representing what the geologists call the Miocene Epoch of the Tertiary Period. They are birds of considerable size, and are famous especially for their skill and swiftness in swimming and diving and for their weird and unearthly cries. Their quickness in diving to escape danger is truly astonishing, and has, nat- urally enough, furnished occasion for frequent exaggeration, also excuses for much bad shooting by gunners who assert that they held true, but the Loon " dodged the ; They have a peculiar faculty of sinking gradually in the water without apparent effort and with little or no rippling of the surface of the water. Sumn Winter. Drawing by R, I. Braslicr LOON 1 b nac. size A clumsy, awkward traveler upon land, but almost unexcelled as a ; Loons take wing with considerable difficulty, but once in the air their flight is swift and usually in a straight line. At all times the sexes present the same general appearance. Their prevailing colors are blackish or grayish above, with the under parts whitish; in summer the darker parts become speckled with white. These markings do not appear in the young nor in the winter plumage of the adults; the very young are covered with a sooty grayish down, changing to white on the lower abdomen. The head is never crested, but both head and neck are velvety. The plumage of the body is hard and compact. The wings are pointed, short, and rather narrow. The eighteen or twenty tail feathers are short and stiff. The hind toe is small and the front toes are fully webbed. The bill is stout, straight, narrow, sharp-pointed, and sharp-edged; it is so constructed that it serves as a spear for catching and holding the slippery fish which are the bird's chief diet. Though related to t
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Keywords: ., bookauthorpearsont, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, bookyear1923
