Encyclopedia > Pacific Loon

  Article Content

Pacific Diver

Redirected from Pacific Loon

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
Brazil

... pursuing further development of its economic standing, both domestically and internationally. Politics Main article: Politics of Brazil The 1988 constitutio ...

 
 
 
This page was created in 30.9 ms