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Common Loon

Gavia immerOrder: GAVIIFORMESFamily: Loons (Gaviidae)
Common Loon Portrait
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Range Map for Common Loon

Overview

Common Loon: Large loon, white-spotted, black upperparts and white underparts. Head, neck are green-black with white-streaked neckbands. Bill is black and thick. Eyes are red-brown. Dives for small fish and crustaceans. Direct flight on strong deep wing beats, head, neck and feet extend beyond body.

Range and Habitat

Common Loon: Breeds from the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, and northern Canada south to California, Montana, and Massachusetts; also breeds in Greenland and Iceland. Spends winters along the Great Lakes, and the Gulf, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts. Preferred nesting habitat is on forested lakes and rivers; winters mainly on coastal bays and oceans.

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Listen:

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Voice Text

"oo-AH-ho", "kee-a-ree"

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Recommended Products:

Audubon North American Bird Feeder Guide
Enjoy the fascinating world of wild birds in your own backyard garden. You'll find inspiration and guidance throughout these pages and learn how to create a bird-friendly habitat - even in the smallest of gardens. Share the insights of two well-known authorities: Robert Burton, naturalist and writer, and Stephen Kress, ornithologist. You'll learn how to plant a bird-friendly garden; select beneficial flowers, trees, shrubs, vines, and ground covers. There are also tips for installing hanging birdfeeders, deterring cats and squirrels, proper placement of ground feeders, building feeders, serving enticing nutritious foods and setting up bird baths. Identify each colorful new comer to the garden with the helpful detailed drawings of over 100 common backyard birds. Illustrations include: size, shape, color, and there's both a flying and folded wings pose. It's interesting to read about changes in bird behavior and activities during important events such as fall migration, courtship rituals and spring nesting season. Includes maps to show the seasonal range of each species. Published in association with the National Audubon Society. Hardcover, 224 pages.
National Audubon Society's The Bird Garden
Landscaping your yard to attract more birds. This is our very favorite book on how and what to plant to increase the variety of wild birds near your home. It's organized by geographic region, making it easy to find the correct plant materials for your area. Includes landscape illustrations and hundreds of photos of trees, shrubs, flowers, vines, and ground cover. Endorsed by the National Audubon Society.

Related Birds:

Red-necked Grebe
Arctic Loon
Yellow-billed Loon
Red-throated Loon
Pacific Loon
.
Bird database and its related content, illustrations and media is Copyright © 2002 - 2006  Mitch Waite Group All rights reserved. Privacy Policy.
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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Family Loon (Gaviidae)_blue
Species Gavia immer
Length28 - 36 Inches
Wingspan54 Inches

Common Loon

Common Loon: Large loon, white-spotted, black upperparts and white underparts. Head, neck are green-black with white-streaked neckbands. Bill is black and thick. Eyes are red-brown. Dives for small fish and crustaceans. Direct flight on strong deep wing beats, head, neck and feet extend beyond body.

● Song: "oo-AH-ho", "kee-a-ree"

● Foraging & Feeding: Common Loon: Eats mostly fish and occasionally crustaceans such as crayfish; forages by diving from the surface and chasing down prey underwater.

● Breeding & nesting: Common Loon: One to three olive green to dark brown eggs, with dark brown spots, are laid in a nest made of vegetation near deep water, allowing parents to swim to and from it undetected by predators; eggs remain exposed and uncovered when parents leave the nest to forage. Incubation ranges from 26 to 31 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Common Loon: The rare Yellow-billed Loon has yellow bill that is beveled upwards at tip.

Flight Pattern

Rapid direct flight., Strong deep wing beats.
Common Loon Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Common Loon: Breeds from the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, and northern Canada south to California, Montana, and Massachusetts; also breeds in Greenland and Iceland. Spends winters along the Great Lakes, and the Gulf, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts. Preferred nesting habitat is on forested lakes and rivers; winters mainly on coastal bays and oceans.
BreedingMonogamous
PopulationFairly common
MigrationMigratory
Weight145.6 Ounces