---
title: "What the sources say about the Common Loon | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "43 claims from the Common Loon profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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canonical: "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/common-loon/sources/"
---

# What the sources say about the Common Loon (*Gavia immer*)

> 43 claims from the Common Loon profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Common Loon](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/common-loon/)

## Gavia immer (common loon). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Gavia_immer/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| legs set too far back to walk well | Their legs are placed very far back on their bodies, making them very powerful underwater swimmers. However, this arrangement also makes walking difficult for these birds. (note: tagline) |
| Lakes across Canada and the northern US in summer | Common loons breed on lakes and other waterways from western Greenland west across Canada and the northernmost United State, including Alaska. (note: stats.habitat) |
| shallow coastal waters in winter | In winter, loons migrate to shallow coastal marine habitat. (note: stats.habitat) |
| Mostly fish, plus crayfish, shrimp and leeches | Loons eat fish and other aquatic animals, including crayfish, shrimp, leeches and some aquatic vegetation. (note: stats.diet) |
| This one hunts by sight, generally in water 2 to 4 metres deep, and clear water is critical to it | Loons are visual predators, locating fish by sight and diving deep to catch them. They generally hunt in water 2 to 4 meters deep. Because they rely on sight, clear water is critical to common loons. |
| Its legs sit far back, and walking is difficult | this arrangement also makes walking difficult for these birds |
| A common loon is 70 to 90 cm long | Range length 70 to 90 cm |
| Common loons nest on lakes from western Greenland across Canada and the northern United States (Alaska included), and a population breeds in Iceland | Common loons breed on lakes and other waterways from western Greenland west across Canada and the northernmost United State, including Alaska. ... There is a breeding population on Iceland |
| Winter sends them to the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of North America, south to Texas and Baja California, and they are frequent winter visitors on Europe's western coasts | They winter along both coasts of North America as far south as Baja California and Texas. ... the species is a frequent winter visitor to the western coasts of Europe. |
| The species is also known as the great northern diver | common loon (Also: great northern diver) |
| with crayfish, shrimp, leeches and some aquatic vegetation also eaten | including crayfish, shrimp, leeches and some aquatic vegetation |
| A female lays one to three eggs, usually two | the female lays 1 to 3 (usually 2) brown eggs |
| for the first few weeks the chicks often ride on a parent's back | Parents often carry the chicks on their back during the first few weeks of the fledging period. |

## Common Loon (Gavia immer). Michigan Natural Features Inventory.

https://mnfi.anr.msu.edu/abstracts/zoology/Gavia_immer.pdf

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| dagger-billed | a relatively long, thick, dagger-like black bill (note: tagline) |
| dense bones | Common Loons are equipped with dense bones which cause them to float low in water (note: tagline) |
| a wolf-like wail | the wail is the most recognized of all Common Loon vocalizations and resembles the howl of a wolf (note: tagline) |
| Mostly fish | Fish constitute the bulk of both adult and juvenile diets (note: stats.diet; body) |
| Its bones are dense, which makes it float low | Common Loons are equipped with dense bones which cause them to float low in water |
| its big webbed feet sit on powerful legs set far back on its body | Large webbed feet and powerful legs set to rear of the body enable loons to propel themselves rapidly underwater for prolonged durations. |
| That rear-set design drives it rapidly underwater | enable loons to propel themselves rapidly underwater for prolonged durations |
| Loons seldom visit land except to mate and nest | loons seldom visit land except for shoreline copulation, nest-building and egg incubation |
| Its small wings mean it has to run a long way across the water's surface just to take off | small wings which force them to “run” upon the water’s surface for a considerable distance to achieve lift-off |
| One account reports birds from 2.7 kg to over 6.3 kg | McIntyre (1988) reports weights ranging from 2.7 kg (5.9 lbs) to over 6.3 kg (13.9 lbs). |
| in Michigan males average 4.6 kg and females 3.7 kg | Michigan males average 4.6 kg (10.1 lbs) and females average 3.7 kg (8.1 lbs) |
| Males are typically 24 to 35% heavier than females | Males are typically 24-35% heavier than females (note: 24-35 written as 24 to 35) |
| Of the common loon's at least six calls, the yodel is the only one that differs between the sexes | Common Loons produce at least six recognized vocalizations, most common of which are the yodel, wail, tremolo, and hoot ... Of these, the yodel is the only sex-specific call |
| Males give this abrasive, oscillating bugle to defend their breeding territory | the yodel is the only sex-specific call and is an abrasive, oscillating bugle given by males to defend and delineate breeding territory |
| The most recognized call is the wail, which resembles the howl of a wolf and can help paired birds find each other | the wail is the most recognized of all Common Loon vocalizations and resembles the howl of a wolf. Among its numerous functions, the wail can serve to determine location and reduce distance between paired individuals |
| Trouble inside the territory gets the tremolo, a staccato cry of distress | The tremolo is the Common Loon’s staccato distress call given in response to a threat within territory |
| Only males yodel. The abrasive, oscillating bugle call defends and marks out the breeding territory, and it is the one loon call that differs between the sexes | the yodel is the only sex-specific call and is an abrasive, oscillating bugle given by males to defend and delineate breeding territory (note: FAQ) |
| The loon's best-known call is the wail, which sounds like a wolf's howl and helps paired birds find each other, and males add a yodel. | the wail is the most recognized of all Common Loon vocalizations and resembles the howl of a wolf. Among its numerous functions, the wail can serve to determine location and reduce distance between paired individuals (note: vibe.reason) |

## AnAge entry for Gavia immer. AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database.

https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Gavia_immer

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| AnAge lists a maximum recorded longevity of 24.1 years in the wild | Maximum longevity 24.1 years (wild) |
| drawing on Bird Banding Laboratory records | [ 0427 ] BBL - Longevity Records of North American Birds |
| AnAge lists 24.1 years as the maximum recorded longevity for a wild common loon, drawing on Bird Banding Laboratory records | Maximum longevity 24.1 years (wild) (note: FAQ) |

## Gavia immer. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: e.T22697842A166327842.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2021-3.rlts.t22697842a166327842.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Least Concern | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). (note: stats.conservationStatus; GBIF check) |
| The IUCN Red List rates the species Least Concern | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). |

## Gayk et al. (2018). Genomic insights into natural selection in the common loon (Gavia immer): evidence for aquatic adaptation. BMC Evolutionary Biology.

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-018-1181-6

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Dense bones and rear-set feet make it a foot-powered submarine | posteriorly-positioned feet for foot-propelled diving, dense bones (note: stats.superpower; submarine is a figure of speech) |
| Loons, the five species of the order Gaviiformes, are specialized divers | The common loon ( Gavia immer ) is one of five species that comprise the avian order Gaviiformes. Loons are specialized divers (note: scope: order Gaviiformes) |
| reaching depths of up to 60 metres and staying under for up to three minutes | Loons are specialized divers, reaching depths up to 60 m while staying submerged for intervals up to three minutes. (note: scope: loons as a group (order Gaviiformes); the sentence names that scope) |
| Loons as a group, the five species of the order Gaviiformes, are specialized divers. A genome study of the common loon puts their reach at up to 60 metres deep, with dives lasting up to three minutes | The common loon ( Gavia immer ) is one of five species that comprise the avian order Gaviiformes. Loons are specialized divers, reaching depths up to 60 m while staying submerged for intervals up to three minutes. (note: FAQ) |

## Evers et al. (2007). Adverse effects from environmental mercury loads on breeding common loons. Ecotoxicology.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-007-0168-7

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| the loons at highest risk from mercury produced 41% fewer fledged young than a reference group | Increasing Hg body burdens reduced the number of fledged chicks per territorial pair, with highest risk loons producing 41% fewer fledged young than our reference group. |
| Mercury pollution is a threat | Increasing Hg body burdens reduced the number of fledged chicks per territorial pair |
| In a study built on 18 years of measurements | A robust spatio-temporal dataset was used that included nearly 5,500 loon Hg measurements over an 18-year period. (note: study length per abstract; study area not stated in the abstract, so Maine and New Hampshire cut) |