Another interesting bird, which you may both hear and see on secluded lakes, is the loon or great northern diver. I first heard the wild cry of the loon, a lonesome and eerie sound, on Pine River Pond, a small lake in the foot-hills of the White Mountains. There I saw the great bird dive and disappear beneath the water to remain an alarmingly long time, and then come up several hundred yards away, and rising, fly slowly to the shore. It is always a matter for guessing when the loon dives, for you can never tell where she will come up. This great diver is a large black-and-white bird, about the size of a goose. The breast is white, head black, and a white ring encircles its black neck. Its beak is long, its legs very short and placed far back on the body. It is essentially a water-bird, and on shore is both slow and awkward. I do not think it possible to become very intimate with the loon, for it is one of the wildest of our birds, and so suspicious it will allow no close approach, but quiet watching will reveal many of its interesting characteristics. Some one once found the nest of a loon and brought me a little, downy, young one that I might try to tame it; but it lived only a day or two in spite of all the devotion expended upon it, and its wild, frightened cry was too pathetic to allow of another experiment of the kind.
You will find that the wild life of the open differs in some respects from that of the woods, though there will be the woodchuck, the rabbit, the fox, and the hare in the fields and farm lands as well as in the woods. The weasel, too, makes unwelcome visits to the farm, but besides these there are other animals that are seldom or never found in the woods.
There is the little field-mouse, a short-eared and short-tailed little creature with a thick neck and of a red-brown color. It feeds on grain and seeds, and when hard pressed for food will also eat the bark of trees.
In the underbrush near a meadow and at the edges of thickets you may possibly see, though they are not common, a diminutive animal, beautiful in form and color and of most interesting habits. In the Southwest it is called the kangaroo-rat, but North and East it is known as the jumping mouse. The name kangaroo-rat is given because of its short fore legs, strong hind legs, and the kangaroo-like leaps it makes. In temper it is very unlike the ordinary rat; it does not bite and can be safely handled, but will not live if kept in captivity.