Loons
Gavia immer

Description - This common loon has a large, heavy body with a thick and pointed black bill. In the breeding season the plumage, head and neck are black with white bands on the neck and white spots on the back; in the winter the crown, hindneck and upperparts dark grey and the throat and underparts are white. The call of the loon, which occurs usually at night and during migration, is a loud, wailing laugh or a mournful yodel and has been described as "one of the most striking wilderness sounds, a strange, sad, mournful, unearthly cry, half laughing, half wailing".

Distribution - The loon breeds from Aleutian Islands, Alaska and Northern Canada, south to New Hampshire, Montana, and California, USA. Loons nest on forested lakes and rivers and winter on coastal bays and oceans south to the Gulf Coast. Also breeds in Iceland.

Biology - Loons are expert divers whose eyes can focus both in water and in air. They concentrate oxygen in their leg muscles to sustain them while diving to depths of up to 200 feet. Nearly solid bones make them heavier than many other birds.