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Common Loon

Common Loon

Gavia immer

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The Common Loon, known in Europe as the Great Northern Diver, is a large, heavy-billed diver famed for its bold black-and-white breeding plumage, red eyes and haunting, far-carrying calls. It breeds on large lakes across Canada, the northern United States, Greenland and Iceland and winters on coastal waters on both sides of the North Atlantic and along the Pacific coast of North America.

Did you know?

  • It is Canada's iconic bird and appears on the one-dollar coin, nicknamed the “loonie”.
  • Loon chicks can dive when only a few days old.

Voice

Song
Call

About the species

Identification

A very large loon with a thick neck and a big, powerful bill; clearly larger and heavier-billed than Black-throated and Red-throated Loons. In breeding plumage it has a black head, white necklace bands and a boldly chequered back, and the bill is jet black, which separates it from Yellow-billed Loon. In winter and juvenile plumage the bill is grey with black on the ridge, whereas in Yellow-billed Loon it is pale grey or ivory.

Family

Gaviidae

Size

Very large (swan)

Colours

black, white

About the habitat

Breeds on large, deep, clear lakes, often forested and with islands; winters on coastal seas and sometimes large inland lakes.

Diet

Mainly fish, as well as crustaceans, insect larvae, molluscs and frogs; most prey is caught and swallowed underwater.

Behaviour

A powerful underwater hunter that can dive to about 60 m. Pairs are usually long-term and defend lake territories with wails and yodels. Both build a mound nest at the water's edge, incubate one or two eggs for about four weeks and feed the chicks, often carrying them on their backs; the young fledge at 10–11 weeks. In winter it is often solitary.

Sources

Photo: John Picken from Chicago, USA, CC BY 2.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gavia immer -Minocqua, Wisconsin, USA -swimming-8.jpg

Sound: Jonathon Jongsma, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gavia_immer_-_Great_Northern_Loon_XC139387.ogg

Sound: Jonathon Jongsma, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gavia_immer_-_Common_Loon_XC139388.mp3

Text: Wikipedia (English) + GBIF regional observations + Wikipedia (Danish) + FinBIF species descriptions + Wikipedia (Finnish), CC BY-SA 4.0; GBIF occurrence data; Wikipedia: CC BY-SA 4.0; FinBIF: CC BY 4.0; Wikipedia: CC BY-SA 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_loon

See also