PINTAIL.
Dafila acuta.
The Iowa Ornithologist
Vol. 2. Salem, Ia., January 1896. No. 2.
Sea Birds That Visit Iowa.
FRANK H. SHOEMAKER, HAMPTON, IA.
Paper read before the First Congress of I. O. A.
Under this heading I have considered the species of four orders—Pygopodes, Longipennes, Steganopodes and Anseres. This is indeed an inexact classification of “sea birds,” but will meet the requirements of the subject in this case. The order Anseres is probably as a whole the least entitled to a position under the general heading, but owing to the maritime habits of many of the species the entire order is included.
The following list is essentially a compilation, since my residence within the state has been too far removed from watercourses or lakes to furnish opportunity for personal observation. My chief authority throughout is the Report on Bird Migration in the Mississippi Valley during the years 1884 and 1885. Frequent reference is made also to a list of the birds of Iowa, compiled by J. A. Allen, constituting Appendix B in Vol. II of the State Geological Survey of 1870. No more than a passing mention of species can be made at this time.
The order Pygopodes has five representatives in this state—three grebes and two loons. Holbœll’s Grebe is a species of northern regions, coming south in winter occasionally to the upper portions of the Mississippi Valley. The Horned Grebe is an allied species, more common than the former, though not abundant; it is occasional in Iowa as a migrant, but it is doubtful if it ever winters in any part of the state. The Pied-billed Grebe, popularly known by a more forcible as well as a more fittingly descriptive name, occurs in all parts of the state as a summer resident, nesting quite commonly, though its eggs seldom appear in the cabinets of those who do not know the peculiar nesting habits.
The family Urinatoridæ is represented by two species: the Loon proper, Urinator imber, and its ally, the Red-throated Loon. The former is the more common variety, inasmuch as it nests in the north and appears regularly during migrations, while the latter variety, the Red-throated Loon, is a distinctively northern species, and appears only during the winter, very irregularly. Three years ago I saw a flock of Red-throated Loons on a small lake in Franklin county, and after a long detour and much careful crawling in a layer of snow and mud, succeeded in approaching near enough to secure two of the birds at one shot. This is the only time I have found loons of either variety in a flock; the class is not gregarious and I would not be convinced of the identity until I had the birds where I could compare with description.