Common Loon
Gavia immer
Brief summary 3
The Common Loon or Great Northern Diver (Gavia immer), with its eerie yodeling and moaning calls, is often viewed as a symbol of the wilderness of the northern portions of North America and Europe, where it breeds (its calls are so evocative that filmakers often use them even in quite unrealistic geographic contexts to achieve a desired atmosphere). The breeding habitat of G. immer is mainly on lakes in the coniferous forest zone, as well as beyond the treeline into open tundra. The North American winter range includes the Pacific coast of North America from the Aleutian Islands south to Baja California and Colima, the Atlantic coast from Newfoundland south to southern Florida and west to Tamaulipas, and, less frequently (especially in the north) around inland waters throughout most of the continental United States. In the western Palearctic, G. immer winters along the Atlantic coast south to northwestern Africa, casually to the eastern Atlantic islands and through Europe to the Mediterranean and Black Seas. In the winter, they are found mainly on the ocean close to shore and on bays and inlets, as well as on large ice-free lakes and reservoirs. They feed mainly (although not exclusively) on small fish (up to around 25 cm), foraging by diving and swimming underwater. (Kaufman 1996; AOU 1998)
Conservation status 4
Common loons are threatened because their habitat is being destroyed. Loons are very sensitive to human disturbance, including recreation or development on their lakes. They are also threatened by pollution, such as mercury and other heavy metals that build up in the loons' bodies and slowly poison them. Acid rain is another pollutant that kills the aquatic plants and animals that many fish eat. This means that there are less fish for the loons to eat.
Oil spills are also deadly to loons. When loons become covered in oil, they are unable to fly, dive or swim. Loons can also be poisoned by accidentally eating lead fishing lures that are left in lakes and by getting tangled up in fishing nets.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Jerry Oldenettel, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://www.flickr.com/photos/7457894@N04/2680676667
- (c) Dick Daniels (http://carolinabirds.org/), some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/Loon%2C_common_04-24_a.jpg
- (c) Shapiro, Leo, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/17570538
- (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/25064963
More Info
Range Map
iNaturalist.ca Map
| Animal | Bird |
|---|---|
| Color | black, brown, white |
| Bird | Loons (Gaviidae) |
