Common Loon (Gavia immer)

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Common Loon (Gaviidae: Gavia immer)

The call of the common loon has become almost synonymous with the northern wilderness of North America. The Common Loon summers and breeds throughout the Northern Boreal Forest (Taiga) and the Arctic Tundra. The species migrates in the fall and summers off the east and west coasts of North America.

Identifying Characters: The summer plumage is a striking combination of black and white with a white belly and black head with a horizontal band of white stripes at the base of the neck. All of the loons look most like ducks with elongate heads and a knife-like bill. The winter plumage of the Common Loon is much more subdued without the summer blacks and whites. Instead the dorsal surface is a dark brown-gray and the ventral surface is white.

Similar Species: The Common Loon is the only species of loon regularly breeding in the Northern Boreal Forest. Other species of loons are found with it in the Arctic Tundra. The Yellow-billed Loon has a yellow, not black bill. The Pacific Loon has thin, white lines running vertically on the neck, not a horizonatal white band at the base of the neck. The Red-throated Loon has red patch on the neck. The winter forms of the loon species are very difficult to tell apart.

Habitat: The Common Loon breds on forested lakes, ponds, and rivers of the Northern Boreal Forest. During the winter the Common Loon is found off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and bays.

Food: Loons feed primarily on small fish, but are also known to eat frogs, aquatic insects, and shellfish.

Behavior: The call of the Common Loon is unforgetable and includes a combination of a plaintive ooo-AH-ooo with the AH syllable rising and a loud wailing laugh. Loons are extremely good divers and have been caught at depths of up to 200 feet.

Reproduction: Common Loons nest in a mat of vegetation near the water's edge. The nest contains 2 olive-brown or dull green eggs with light spots. The chicks are black and are sometimes seen riding on the back of an adult (see bottom picture on the left).