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WetlandPlatform nestHuge · 2.3 kg
What the Black-throated Loon sounds like
ID tip
The adult black-throated loon is 58 to 73 cm (23 to 29 in) in length with a 100 to 130 cm (39 to 51 in) wingspan and a weight of 1.3 to 3.4 kilograms (2.9 to 7.5 lb). The nominate subspecies in its breeding plumage has a grey head and hindneck, with a black throat and a large black patch on the foreneck, both of which have a soft purple gloss. The lower throat has a necklace-shaped patch of short parallel white lines. Voice: The male, when breeding, vocalizes a loud and rhythmic "oooéé-cu-cloooéé-cu-cloooéé-cu-cluuéé" whistling song. A "áááh-oo" wail can also be heard, and a growling or croaking "knarr-knor", a sound given especially at night. The alarm call at the nest is a rising "uweek".
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
When to see the Black-throated Loon
One bar for each month. Filled bars are the 7 months with records; pale bars are months with none. The wide bar is May, the month with the most records.
Where to see the Black-throated Loon
The map shades 51 countries with regular records, and 5 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.
Recorded as a rare visitor in Portugal, Canada, Taiwan, Morocco, Luxembourg.
About the Black-throated Loon
The black-throated loon, also known as the Arctic loon and the black-throated diver, is a migratory aquatic bird found in the Northern Hemisphere, primarily breeding in freshwater lakes in northern Europe and Asia. It winters along sheltered, ice-free coasts of the north-east Atlantic Ocean and the eastern and western Pacific Ocean. This loon was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 and has two subspecies. It was previously considered to be the same species as the Pacific loon, of which it is traditionally considered to be a sister species, although this is debated.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Easily confused with
Pacific LoonGavia pacificaBreeding adults are like a smaller sleeker version of common loon.
Yellow-billed LoonGavia adamsiiWith a length of 76 to 97 cm (30 to 38 in), a wingspan of 135 to 160 cm (53 to 63 in), and a weight ranging from 4 to 6.4 kg (8.8 to 14.1 lb), the yellow-billed loon is the largest member of the loon (diver) family.
Red-throated LoonGavia stellataLike the other members of its genus, the red-throated loon is well adapted to its aquatic environment: its dense bones help it to submerge, its legs—in their set-back position—provide excellent propulsion, and its body is long and streamlined.
Side by side: Black-throated Loon vs Common Loon · Black-throated Loon vs Red-throated Loon · Black-throated Loon vs Pacific Loon · Black-throated Loon vs Yellow-billed Loon
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