Overview
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.
Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Range and habitat
Breeds in southern Greenland, Iceland, and northern North America southward to northern tier of US states; winters from Iceland and Scandinavia southward to the Iberian Peninsula and from southern Alaska and the Maritime Provinces (Canada) southward to northern Mexico.
Range description: AviList Global Avian Checklist.
Sources and further reading
- Wikipedia: Common 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.
