Loon
Related Category: Vertebrate Zoology
common name for migratory aquatic birds found in fresh- and saltwater in the colder parts of the Northern Hemisphere. Its strange, laughing call carries for great distances.
Loon Census Guidelines & Helpful Hints
Conduct your observations for the entire hour of the census.
Common Loon
Gavia immer (Brünnich)
Status Common transient, fairly common in summer and winter. Breeds. After wintering on the sea, it appears on lakes as soon as they are free of ice, although a few non-breeders remain on salt water.
Common Loon: Gavia immer
Appearance:
Loons are listed first in most standard field guides and a quick glance at the entry on the common loon shows that the bold black and white breeding feathers observed in northern birds are replaced by ...
Common loon Gavia immer
Identification Tips:
Length: 24 inches Wingspan: 58 inches
Sexes similar
Large diving bird with long body that rides low in the water
Large bill is straight, tapers to a point, and is held horizontally ...
Common Loon
COMMON LOON
Photo Credit: U.S Fish and Wildlife Service ...
Common Loon Comments (2)
tianna torgerson
"this is the best site ever."
Kitty
"Great Info" ...
Pacific Loon
Relatives in same Genus
Common Loon (G. immer)
Red-throated Loon (G. stellata) ...
The Common Loon (Gavia immer) nests across most of Canada and Alaska. The hauntying, yodeling calls of this bird in the summer are a familiar sound to those people who ive near a lake in the far north.
The Loon breeds in various parts of the United States, from Maryland to Maine. I have ascertained that it nestles in the former of these States, on the Susquehanna river, as well as in the districts between Kentucky and Canada, and on our great lakes.
The Loon Preservation Committee
Canadian Wildlife Services
Did You Know?
Did you know that loons are one of the oldest bird families? Some loon fossils date back to the time dinosaurs became extinct, about 65 million years ago! ...
All loon species are migrants from their northern breeding grounds to their wintering habitats in North America and Northern Mexico.
HABITS ...
Common Loon Behaviour
For loons to dive and chase fish underwater without popping back up like a cork, their wings are as small as possible. The wings help propel them through the water, and to turn as fast as lightning while chasing prey.
Common Loon, Gavia immer
More Images »
Where are they found? Europe, Greenland, North America ...
Pacific Loon Gavia pacifica - Pair in breeding plumage
Photographer :
Location : ...
Michigan Loon Preservation Association
Gavia immer (University of Michigan, Museum of Zoology)
Identification Tips & More (USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center) ...
The Common Loon (Gavia immer) is, as its name implies, the most common of the loons. Its size ranges from 28 to 36 inches long with a 58 inch wingspan.
Yellow-billed Loon, immature. (c) Ron Wolf
Appearance Description
With its striking black and white plumage, black head, and large, pale bill, the impressive Yellow-billed Loon is the largest of the world's five loon species.
Great Northern Loon nests are usually placed on islands, where ground-based predators cannot normally access them. However, eggs and nestlings have been taken by gulls, corvids, raccoons, skunks, minks, foxes, snapping turtles and large fish.
Yellow-billed Loon Gavia adamsii
Described by: Gray, G. R. (1859)
Alternate common name(s): White-billed Diver
Old scientific name(s): None known by website authors ...
Common Loon
(Gavia immer)
Status: Migrant.
Last recorded on site in 2009
The Patuxent web-site provides more general information about this species.
Occurs irregularly on the larger lakes, particularly Lake Law and A.E. Sea.
Sounds: The common loon has four calls. The tremolo, which sounds a bit like maniacal laughter, is an aggressive call. The wail is a long, drawn-out sound. The hoot, a shorter call, is used to communicate among parents and young.
Loon, Black-throated aka Artic Loon aka Black-Throated Diver Gavia arctica Found: North America (Alaska), Europe, Asia
Photographed by: 1) Carley, Curtis 2) Robert Bergman of the US Fish and Wildlife Service ...
Arctic loon (Gavia arctica)
Information on the Arctic loon is currently being researched and written and will appear here shortly... More 23 Images 0 videos ...
Common Loon (Glavia immer)
range in length from 2 to 3 ft (60-90 cm).
Loon
Horseshoe Crab
Limulus polyphemus (scientific)
Horseshoe crabs spend most of their life out in the ocean. During the late spring, they emerge onto beaches throughout the Atlantic and Gulf coasts to breed.
Arctic loon,
Black-throated loon
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Common Loon Range
Audio
Fast Facts
Type: Bird Diet: Carnivore Average life span in the wild: 30 years Size: 2 to 3 ft (66 to 91 cm) Weight: 6.5 to 12 lbs (3 to 5 kg) Group name: Flock Did you know?
Common Loon (9): Nantucket Shoals.
Cory's Shearwater (30): Southern Nantucket Shoals.
'SCOPOLI'S SHEARWATER', C. d. diomedea (2-3): Southern edge Nantucket
Shoals; smaller Mediterranean race of Cory's; mixed in roosting flocks of ...
Common Loon
Winter Sighting Information: common
Nest on or near Refuge? no
Red-throated Loon
Winter Sighting Information: uncommon
Nest on or near Refuge? no ...
The common loon nests on land near large lakes. Some loon nesting places have been taken over by human development and the loon population has decreased. Pollution can also hurt animal and plant populations.
The Common Loon is usually found in coastal areas but also on lakes and ponds in scattered inland areas.
Red-throated and Pacific Loons are rare visitors to the state, most often seen in north Florida during fall and winter.
The Common Loon is well known for its hauntingly beautiful voice. There are four main calls: a wail that is similar to the howl of a coyote, an undulating yodel, a soft hooting call, and a tremulous alarm call.
2. Common Loon, stretching, Moss Landing
3. American Avocet adult with chick, Redwood Shores
4. Brown Creeper, Lake Merced ...
The Red-throated Loon is a smaller species with reddish throat.
The Arctic Loon is similar to it, but with a black throat in summer.
Loons are commonly 28 to 36 inches in length. The female is similar
to the male.
Red-throated Loon Gavia stellata: Point Lookout, Nassau County, NY, 17 Jan
Pacific Loon Gavia pacifica: whale watching from Newport Harbor, CA, 04 Jan
Common Loon Gavia immer: whale watching from Newport Harbor, CA, 04 Jan ...
Loon. 46: 28-33. [13113] 11. Blanchette, Pierre; Bourgeois, Jean-Claude; St-Onge, Sylvain. 2007. Ruffed grouse winter habitat use in mixed softwood-hardwood forests, Quebec, Canada. Journal of Wildlife Management. 71(6): 1758-1764. [78307] 12.
Loon 64:125-126. Haig, S. M., D. W. Mehlman, and L. W. Oring. 1998. Avian movements and wetland connectivity in landscape conservation. Conservation Biology 12:749-758. Helmers, D. L. 1992. Shorebird management manual.
Red-throated Diver / Loon (Gavia stellata) June 2004
Great Northern Diver / Loon (Gavia immer) August 2003
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis) June 2002
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus) June 2002 ...
Though its wing bones do not show the extreme specializations modern penguins have for an aquatic lifestyle, it does seem adapted for wing-propelled diving, and may have resembled a flightless loon.
One Lead Split Shot - Enough to Kill a Twelve Pound Loon!
Lead poisoning from ingested tackle usually occurs in one of two ways, a lead jig head is swallowed by a fish, ...
I was hoping he would mock a loon, but that did not happen. His plumage improved immensely due to the humidity and different weather. He was outdoors underneath the dodger all day, except for rainy periods and during our voyages.
Fur Elise
The sounds of a loon, two owls, cat, wood stork and cuckoo are the sole musical instruments in this furry arrangement of the classic, "Fur Elise," composed by Ludwig van Beethoven.
Similar Species: Double-crested Cormorant: under parts are not clean white. Common Loon: shorter, stocky neck. Eared, Homed and Red-necked grebes: much smaller.
This is the only family in this order.
Species in this family:
Common Loon (Gavia immer)
Red-throated Loon (Gavia stellata) ...
Grebe This is a swimming bird that lives near quiet waters in most parts of the world. Grebes resemble the related loon and the unrelated duck; their wings are short , vestigial , and long, ...
Canada's national bird is the Common Loon.
The bird symbols of Canada's provinces and territories are: ...
Bald Eagle diving talons first for a fish about 50 yards from my docked boat. It was a miss. A crow was noisily chasing the eagle, and after they both took off a loon surfaced and called. Who could ask for more! The eagle is still looking for food.
A small family of large water birds, with three species regularly seen in the UK (two of which breed) plus one rare vagrant from northern Asia (the white-billed diver). There is another similar species (the Pacific loon) in North America.
While they were not as well adapted to aquatic life as modern penguins (which first emerged in the Eocene epoch 40 million years ago), Waimanu were flightless and loon-like, with short wings adapted for deep diving.
predatory fish and mammals who depend on large menhaden populations, including the striped bass, bluefish, weakfish, Spanish and King mackerel, seals, and whales. Because of their schooling behavior, they also are a favorite target for common loon, ...
 See also: Grebe, Cormorant, Duck, Woodpecker, Swallow
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