Overview
The red-throated loon (North America) or red-throated diver (Britain and Ireland) (Gavia stellata) is a migratory aquatic bird found in the Northern Hemisphere. The most widely distributed member of the loon or diver family, it breeds primarily in Arctic regions, and it winters in northern coastal waters. Ranging from 55 to 67 centimetres (22 to 26 in) in length, the red-throated loon is the smallest and lightest of the world's loons. In winter, it is a nondescript bird, greyish above, fading to white below.
Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Range and habitat
Breeds across the northern Holarctic region; winters coastally in the north Pacific Ocean from the Kamchatka Peninsula to the Yellow Sea, and from southern Alaska to northwestern Mexico; and in the northern Atlantic Ocean from the Maritime Provinces (Canada) to the southeastern USA, from Scandinavia south to the Mediterranean, and the Black and Caspian seas.
Range description: AviList Global Avian Checklist.
Continents
Countries
- Albania
- Armenia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Bulgaria
- Canada
- China
- Croatia
- Czechia
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Italy
- Japan
- Kazakhstan
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Mexico
- Moldova
- Monaco
- Montenegro
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Pakistan
- Poland
- Romania
- Russia
- Serbia
- Slovenia
- South Korea
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Turkey
- Turkmenistan
- Ukraine
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Uzbekistan
Sources and further reading
- Wikipedia: Red-throated loon
- eBird: sightings, maps and photos
- xeno-canto: sound recordings
- Birds of the World: full species account (subscription)
- BirdLife DataZone: status and threats
- IUCN Red List (threat status)
- AviList global checklist (taxonomy)
Last updated September 29, 2026.
