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Common Loon
Gavia immer
Audubon Illustration
John James Audubon, Birds of America (1827-1838). Public domain.
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About the Common Loon
The common loon or great northern diver (Gavia immer) is a large member of the loon, or diver, family of birds. Breeding adults have a plumage that includes a broad black head and neck with a greenish, purplish, or bluish sheen, blackish or blackish-grey upperparts, and pure white underparts except some black on the undertail coverts and vent. Non-breeding adults are brownish with a dark neck and head marked with dark grey-brown. Their upperparts are dark brownish-grey with an unclear pattern of squares on the shoulders, and the underparts, lower face, chin, and throat are whitish. The sexes look alike, though males are significantly heavier than females.
Source: Wikipedia
Classification
- Scientific name
- Gavia immer
- Family
- Loons
- Order
- Gaviiformes
Similar species
Other members of the loons family recorded in North America — a useful place to start if you are not certain of your identification.
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