Description
24-27" (61-69 cm). A small loon seldom seen far from
salt water. In breeding plumage, has gray head and neck, rusty throat, black
back spotted with white. In winter, similar to Common Loon but smaller, paler,
with bill thinner and seemingly upturned.
Voice
Call, rarely sounded away from breeding grounds, is a series
of high-pitched wails and shrieks.
Listen
courtship duet
mournful notes
Habitat
Coastal and tundra ponds during summer; large lakes, bays,
estuaries, and ocean in migration and winter.
Range
Breeds in Aleutian Islands, Alaska, and Canadian Arctic
south to British Columbia, northern Manitoba, and Newfoundland. Winters south
along Pacific Coast to southern California and along Gulf Coast and both coasts
of Florida. Also in northern Eurasia.
Discussion
The attractive breeding plumage of this loon is seldom seen
in temperate latitudes, because the birds molt just before they depart for
their nesting grounds. While not as social as Pacific Loons, wintering
Red-throated Loons may gather in large numbers where food is abundant. They are
common on salt water of all depths but frequently forage in shallow bays and
estuaries rather than far out at sea. Because their legs are located so far
back, loons have difficulty walking on land and are rarely found far from
water. Most loons must paddle furiously across the surface of the water before
becoming airborne, but the small Red-throated can practically spring directly
into the air from land, a useful ability on its tundra breeding grounds. The
birds are extremely vulnerable to oil pollution; many have been killed along
both coasts as a result of recent oil spills.
Nesting
2 brownish-olive, usually spotted eggs in nest of aquatic
vegetation floating in or beside water.
