Pacific Loon
Gavia pacifica
Summary 3
The Pacific Loon's head is black which extends down the back of its neck and back where there are some mottled white spots. On its underside the color is white extending from its bill to its belly. Its average length is 66cm/26in.
Trophic strategy 4
Feeds on fishes as well as crustaceans, mollusks, and aquatic insects; also eats aquatic seeds and some aquatic vegetation. Small shoal fishes often important in winter. Food obtained underwater during dives usually less than 1 minute. In some areas, nesting birds feed in lakes and ponds adjacent to their nest sites; in other areas, they make regular foraging flights to nearshore marine waters (Andres 1993).
Habitat 5
Pacific Loons reside for the most part along the eastern coast of the Pacific Ocean and Arctic Ocean along Canada's northern boundary. They can also be found in inland waterways and even lakes occurring along their migratory paths. They are sensitive to disturbances, especially those created by humans, and are most likely to occur in remote areas. Their nest are found right along the shoreline and will be abandoned if receding waters cause the nest to be too far from the edge of the water. Recently loons have become a pest on lakes that are commercially stocked with fish.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Len Blumin, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), http://www.flickr.com/photos/9062441@N02/3624246300
- (c) Ken-ichi Ueda, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Ken-ichi Ueda
- Adapted by Yukon Conservation Data Centre from a work by (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31395830
- Adapted by Yukon Conservation Data Centre from a work by (c) NatureServe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/28912291
- Adapted by Yukon Conservation Data Centre from a work by (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31395829
More Info
Range Map
iNaturalist.ca Map
| Color | brown, grey, white |
|---|---|
| Animal | Bird |
| Bird | loon |
