Birds and Birding's Guide to:

Watching THE LOONS AND GREBES

Loon Behaviours

The characters upon which the species of Loon are based, although not very striking, are ordinarily sufficient for their ready identification. Thus the first four species to be mentioned agree in having the tarsus shorter than the middle toe without the claw, and in having the fore neck blackish in summer. In the so-called Common Loon (G. imber) the bill in the mature bird is blackish and the head and neck are glossed with velvety green; the length is from twenty-eight to thirty-six inches.

This bird is found throughout the northern part of the Northern Hemisphere. Its closest relative is the Yellow-billed Loon (G. adamsii), so named from the fact that the bill is almost wholly yellowish white, while the head and neck are glossed with velvety violet-blue. It is also the largest species, ranging from thirty-five to thirty-eight inches in length, and inhabits western Arctic America and northeastern Asia. These two species have the head and neck black all around, while in the two following these parts are grayish.

Of these the Black-throated Loon (G. arctica) is so called from the blackish fore neck, this being glossed with velvety purple. It is smaller than either of those above mentioned, being from twenty-six to twenty-nine inches long. It ranges over the northern portions of the Northern Hemisphere, breeding in the Arctic regions. Very closely allied is the Pacific Loon (G. pacifica), being distinguished by its smaller size and the paler color of the nape and back of the head; it is confined to the Pacific coast of North America.

In the remaining form, the Red-throated Loon (G. lumme), the tarsus is longer than the middle toe with its claw, and the fore neck is a rich chestnut. It is widely distributed over the northern portion of the Northern Hemisphere, nesting well within the Arctic regions.

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