Least ConcernBlack-throated Diver
Gavia arctica
23 countries6 parks
Species group · Birds
WAnimals has 3 species of loon, in the family Gaviidae.
Ranges calculated from the profiles that record the figure, not from all 3.
Each one has its own full profile. This group does not replace them: it brings them together.
No species documented in this group is genuinely at risk according to the IUCN, with the data available today.
Recorded in 45 countries. The ones with the most species in the group:
Its bones are partly solid, unlike the hollow bones of almost all birds: that density reduces buoyancy and lets it dive effortlessly, but it means a take-off run of tens of metres across the water.
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On land it is almost helpless: its legs are set so far back that it cannot walk upright, and it nests within a metre of the shore because it cannot get any further.
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The chicks ride on their parents' backs for the first few weeks, sheltered from the cold water and from large fish and raptors.
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It gives its name to the Canadian one-dollar coin, nicknamed the "loonie".
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Its legs, set far back on the body, make it clumsy walking on land.
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It can dive to 60 metres to fish.
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It is the only diver able to take off directly from land.
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It carries small fish whole in its bill to feed its chicks.
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