Birds Posters
Loon
Common loons are large swimming birds with long bodies (70 to 90 cm long, 1.6 to 8.0 kg) that sit low in the water.
They have straight, thick, daggerlike bills that are black in the breeding season and gray during the rest of the year.
The plumage of loons is black, white and gray.
This species is most abundant in Canada and the Northern United States.
Common loons breed on lakes and other waterways from western Greenland west across Canada and the northernmost United State, including Alaska.
The strange yodel or loon laughter of the Common Loon was described by the famous naturalist John Muir.
They make underwater fishing dives of up to 200 feet below the surface. They are adapted for diving with heavy bones and eyes that can focus both in air and water.
This bird is the state bird of Minnesota. It also appears on the loonie coin in Canada.
The Pacific Loon is found along the Western Coast of the United States during the fall and winter, and in Northern Canada and Alaska where they migrate
for the breeding months of the spring and summer.
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 66 cm.
Like other loons, the Pacific Loon walks extremely awkwardly on land, and cannot take flight from land at all.
They are monogamous as long as the relationship is producing offspring.
They are sensitive to disturbances; especially those created by humans, and are most likely to occur in remote areas.
The Pacific Loon feeds mainly on small fish and other aquatic life.
Fishing is conducted beneath the surface where they make good use of well-developed air sacs, which allow them to pursue their prey for extended periods.
The Arctic Loon is also known as the Black-throated Diver.
They sit low in the water and dive with ease. On land they are clumsy, barely able to walk with their legs so far back on their bodies.
According to old stories, the devil himself created the Black-throated Diver.
They said that the devil had forgotten to give the bird its feet, and in his anger he threw the legs after the bird.
Yellow-billed Loons occasionally drown in nets, either put out for commercial, research, or subsistence purposes.