Encyclopedia > Pacific Diver

  Article Content

Pacific Diver

Pacific Diver
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Gaviformes
Family: Gavidae
Genus: Gavia
Species: arctica
Binomial name
Gavia arctica

Pacific Diver (Gavia pacifica), known in North America as Pacific Loon, is a medium-sized member of the Loon or Diver family.

It breeds in Alaska. It winters at sea or on large lakes over a much wider range. It may be conspecific with Black-throated Diver, which it closely resembles.

Breeding adults are like a smaller sleeker version of Great Northern Diver. They have a grey head, black throat, white underparts and chequered black-and-white mantle. Non-breeding plumage is drabber with the chin and foreneck white. Its bill is grey or whitish and dagger-shaped. In all plumages, lack of a white flank patch distinguishes this species from the otherwise very similar Black-throated Diver

This species, like all divers, is a specialist fish-eater, catching its prey underwater.It fies with neck outstretched.

The call is an a yodelling high-pitched wailing.


Gavia: Latin for sea smew (although Divers are not Smew); pacifica: Latin, meaning of the Pacific.



All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License

 
  Search Encyclopedia

Search over one million articles, find something about almost anything!
 
 
  
  Featured Article
Shinnecock Hills, New York

... households out of which 24.1% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.8% are married couples living together, 6.8% have a female householder with no husband ...

 
 
 
This page was created in 31.5 ms