Great northern diver
| Common loon | |
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| Adult in breeding plumage in Wisconsin, United States | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Gaviiformes |
| Family: | Gaviidae |
| Genus: | Gavia |
| Species: | G. immer |
| Binomial name | |
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Gavia immer (Brunnich, 1764) |
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| Distribution of G. immer. Not shown is the eastern part of the wintering range, which encompasses lakes and coastal areas down to Central Europe. Breeding range Year-round range Wintering range |
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| Synonyms | |
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Gavia imber |
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Breeding range Year-round range Wintering range
Gavia imber
The common loon (Gavia immer) is a large member of the loon, or diver, family of birds. The species is known as the great northern diver in Eurasia; another former name, great northern loon, was a compromise proposed by the International Ornithological Committee.
The common loon is one of the five loon species that make up the genus Gavia, the only genus of the family Gavidae and order Gaviiformes. Its closest relative is the other large black-headed species, the yellow-billed loon or white-billed diver, Gavia adamsii.
The genus name Gavia was the Latin term for the smew (Mergellus albellus). This small sea-duck is quite unrelated to loons and just happens to be another black-and-white seabird which swims and dives for fish. It is unlikely that the Ancient Romans had much knowledge of loons, as they are limited to more northern latitudes and since the end of the last glacial period seem to have occurred only as rare winter migrants in the Mediterranean region. The specific name immer is derived from North Germanic names for the bird such as modern Icelandic "Himbrimi". The term may be related to Swedish immer and emmer, the grey or blackened ashes of a fire, referring to its dark plumage; or to Latin immergo, to immerse, and immersus, submerged. The European name "diver" comes from the bird's habit of catching fish by swimming calmly along the surface and then abruptly plunging into the water. The North American name "loon" may be a reference to the bird's clumsiness on land, and derived from Scandinavian words for lame, such as Icelandic "lúinn" and Swedish "lam". Another possible derivation is from the Norwegian word lom for these birds, which comes from Old Norse lómr, possibly cognate with English "lament", referring to the characteristic plaintive sound of the loon. The scientific name Gavia refers to seabirds in general.
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Wikipedia