Common Loon at Palo Alto, California
Common Loon at Palo Alto, Cal.
I WISH to record a specimen of Gavia immer secured near Palo Alto, California, on April 15, 1901. It was shot by a student of Stanford University at a fresh water reservoir on the campus. I prepared the skin, which is now in the University collection. It proved to be an adult male, and is in complete summer plumage. The bird was probably on its way northward to its breeding grounds, as I have not observed the species in winter in this immediate vicinity.
Although of regular occurrence in California, this loon has not been recorded very often. The red-throated and Pacific loons have been much more frequently noted, though both the latter seem to be confined to the sea-coast; while the common loon occurs principally on fresh bodies of water inland. The latter has been found also in summer in the Sierras, and has been recorded as breeding in the lakes lying a few miles east of Mt. Lassen.
