ANNOTATED LIST OF BIRDS

Loon--Gavia immer (Brunnich).

Loons were present on many of the lakes visited. No particu-
lar effort was made to locate nest but during the course of lake
surveys four were examined. The particulars concerning the nests
and the behaviour of the parents upon being disturbed are as fol
lows:

Tiltzarone Lake--May 17: Nest a depression, containing a
little water moss, on an old muskrat house made of sedge at outer
margin of narrow lakeshore marsh. The single egg was sunk in the
water so that only the upper surface showed. An adult was close
to the nest and had recently been on it as the egg was warm.

Quanstrom Lake--May 17: An adult sitting on a nest similar
in composition and site to the above was not disturbed.

Bouchie Lake--June 6: Nest 18 inches in diameter of dry
cattails built on the flattened edge of a large muskrat house of
the same material, situated at the edge of a cattail marsh on the
lakeshore (Fig. 35). Between the nest and open water were scat-—
tered round-stem bulrushes. One egg was pipped and the chick's
bill visible through the half-inch aperture--its 'peeping' could
be heard at a distance of six feet. Neither of the adult loons
had been seen during the time I was paddling towards, and then
examining, the nest. Shortly afterward one adult appeared about
x0 yards away; she dived several times and remained silent until
I paddled away, then the laughing call was made once. This was at
11:00 a.m. At 3:00 p.m. I paddled directly towards the nest and
upon drawing near could see that a loon was on in with neck draped
over the edge. When I was about 25 feet away it surged across the
water, using both wings and feet and with body flat on the surface,
for about 60 feet beyond the outermost rushes. There it called
excitedly and charged over the water but in a nearly upright
position with chest thrust out. The other member of the pair swam
rapidly in, from a distance of 200 yards perhaps, and for the fol-
lowing ten minutes the two birds swam and dived close to my canoe,
as it drifted along the edge of the rushes. The bird which had
been incubating was noticeably the larger of the two; it was the
more aggressive and continued making various demonstrations, as
for example, standing upright with head forward and chest out;
standing nearly upright with head forward and wings partly open;
advancing with wings half open; in partly upright position stretch-
ing and shaking wings. Note that in Fig. 36 the nearer loon (the
one which was on the nest) has the bill open in the act of calling.

=) fl =