Common Loon
Gavia immer
Conservation Status
Least ConcernAves · Gaviiformes · Gaviidae
About
The common loon or great northern diver is a large member of the loon, or diver, family of birds. Breeding adults have a plumage that includes a broad black head and neck with a greenish, purplish, or bluish sheen, blackish or blackish-grey upperparts, and pure white underparts except some black on the undertail coverts and vent. Non-breeding adults are brownish with a dark neck and head marked with dark grey-brown. Their upperparts are dark brownish-grey with an unclear pattern of squares on the shoulders, and the underparts, lower face, chin, and throat are whitish. The sexes look alike, though males are significantly heavier than females. During the breeding season, loons live on lakes and other waterways in Canada, the northern United States, and southern parts of Greenland and Iceland. Small numbers breed on Svalbard and sporadically elsewhere in Arctic Eurasia. Common loons winter on both coasts of the US as far south as Mexico, and on the Atlantic coast of Europe.
Fun Fact
The eerie wailing call of the Common Loon can travel over 10 miles across still water and is one of the most iconic sounds of the northern wilderness.
Quick Facts
Habitat
Habitat ranges from wooded lakes to tundra ponds.
Diet
Diet of the common loon.
Lifespan
To be updated
Threats
- Habitat Change
- Human Disturbance