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Facts About the Bird the Common Loon

The common loon is a large water bird native to North America. It is a true water species, only coming onto dry land by mistake or to breed. The bird can sometimes mistake wet highways for lakes. The Cree Indian tribe of Canada hunt the loon for food and many North Americans used to hunt it for sport.

Description
- The common loon grows to be around 36 inches in length with a wingspan of more than 50 inches, and can weigh over 13 lbs. The bird has a long body with legs located close to its tail, making it a good swimmer but poor at walking. It has a black, white and gray mottled plumage with a pure white underside. Males and females look almost identical, but the male tends to be slightly larger.
Habitat and Range
- The loon spends its summers breeding throughout Greenland, Iceland, Canada, Alaska and the more northern of the lower 48 states. During the winter, the species migrates south through the U.S. to spend the colder months in coastal regions along the west and east coasts. The favored habitat for the bird is almost any large body of water including lakes, marshes and ponds. In the winter the loon is found in shallow coastal marine waters.
Diet and Predators
- The common loon dives for its food using its eyesight to locate underwater prey. Fish, crustaceans, invertebrates and some aquatic plants are included in the bird's diet. The loon swallows most food underwater during the dive, but it brings larger prey to the surface. Living mainly on the water, the bird has few predators although large eagles and sea otters are known to prey on them. The loon is at its most vulnerable when nesting, but tends to do its nesting on small islands that have no land predators. Gulls, crows, snapping turtles, mink and skunks are all known to take loon eggs.
Life Cycle
- Common loons pair off for life with the parents sharing the nest-making responsibilities. The nest tends to be 2 feet across and is located on small islands or floating vegetation. The birds only breed once per season, with one to three eggs being the average clutch size. Both parents incubate the eggs, which hatch after around 29 days. Only a few days are spent in the nest after hatching before the chicks follow their parents onto the water. After two to three months the chicks are independent. Common loons can live up to nine years in the wild.

Animals & Science