Loon duck

1973

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An inhabitant of the northern regions, the loon duck is not only a bird perfectly adapted to harsh conditions, but also a very beautiful creature. Let's talk about her.

Loon duck

Loon characteristics

The loon, whose name is clearly consonant with the other northern duck, the eider, is a waterfowl and belongs to a small order of five species:

white-necked;
white-billed;
black-billed;
black-throated;
red-throated.

All eiders are wonderful swimmers, but they also have some differences.

general description

Usually these ducks do not grow more than 70 cm, and their weight does not exceed 6 kg. The body is streamlined, slightly flattened, covered with a high-quality, thick, unusually soft feather. This is the main protection of birds from low temperatures in northern waters, except for the fat layer, of course. A distinctive feature is a neat silver stripe on both wings.

Both genders look similar:

white feathers grow on the abdomen;
the back is either gray with a brown undertone, or black with white splashes (streaks);
the head and neck are decorated with a pattern that is specific for each species (in young animals, there are no characteristic patterns even in winter).

Webbed feet allow birds to swim freely and also dive under water

They communicate with each other using a shout or a cry. The latter they publish when they inform their flock about the upcoming flight. Ducks scream if their lives are in danger. At the same time, a shrill scream is heard, although this rarely happens.

Where they live and winter

The northern expanses are home to ducks, loons. This is mainly North Africa and the territory of Eurasia with a cold climate: mountains, tundra, forests, etc. But there should always be water bodies nearby, vast and cold, with rocky shores, and the territory itself should be clean.

During the period when the water freezes, ducks cannot hunt, and therefore live, so they go in search of another place. Ducks wintering takes place on the coasts near the Pacific Ocean and on the seas: White, Baltic, Black. Then they like to return to their, so to speak, familiar places.

Flight characteristic

The rise from the water surface is not difficult for the loons: they rise high and often fly only in a straight line. Sharp movements in the form of turns, etc. they are not peculiar. If they need to hide, they will not dodge, but rush under the water.

In appearance, the flight of the flock is a little chaotic: there is no main duck, there is no formation, each individual keeps aloof, away from the rest.

Loon or eider?

So is it a loon or a loon? The pronunciation, of course, is similar and can be misleading, but the eider is a completely different bird from the order of Anseriformes. Outwardly, these representatives are completely different, which is easily noticeable even in the photo, even in life.The eider is known for its valuable down, and the loon for its skins.

Lifestyle

Temper

Loons live in flocks. At the same time, each member is always on the watch in order to instantly recognize the danger.

They are not suitable as poultry, they do not establish contact with people.

Food

Since loons spend most of their life on rivers, lakes, etc., their food consists mainly of water inhabitants: small fish, worms, insects, molluscs, crustaceans, etc. Sometimes these are plants and seeds.

Diving into the water, the duck gets its own food. She has a rather strong beak, squeezing which, she easily kill fish.

Reproduction

Like many ducks, loons tend to be monogamous in relationships. A couple is created once and for all. Both flights and hatching of chicks are carried out together.

Puberty with readiness for fertilization occurs later in them than in other ducks. At about 3 years old, the individual begins to look for a pair for reproduction.

Bird nests are located along the banks overgrown with grass. The female, together with the male, digs grooves leading from the coast to the water: this way it is easier for them to get to the reservoir, eat and return back to the nest.

The number of laid eggs usually does not exceed 2 pieces, 3 is very rare. The difference between clutches can be about 7 days. Hatching is the task of both ducks, mum and dad. This process takes about one month.

Offspring

The chick is born covered with dark fur. He is almost immediately able to swim and even dive, and his first flights occur in the second month of life.

The first weeks after hatching of babies, parents take care of their babies, protect them, hunt worms and insects.

About types of loons

Black throated loon

Let's start with the most common black-throated loon, which lives in sub-arctic and arctic Europe, Asia and here and there in Alaska. Mainly in the tundra and forest-steppe.

In length, they grow to 58-75 cm, in weight gain from 1800 to 3500 kg. Under water withstands about 2 minutes, and the depth of their dive is 50 m.

The black-throated duck builds its nest in the mountains at an altitude of 2300 m above sea level. The male black-throated loon takes responsibility for its creation.

Red-throated loon

Perhaps the most beautiful loon is the red-throated duck. The pink stripe on her neck resembles a collar and is her signature feature. The birds are very small: up to 69 cm in length and up to 2.5 kg in weight.

They live in Asia, Europe, North America, in the fall they fly to the south, to China, Florida, California.

Red-throated swimmers are very interesting swimmers, they swim on their sides, on their backs, dive deeply and for a long time (for a minute or a half, 2-9 m and deeper). At the same time, they fly great. Of all the species, the red-throated is the only one who flies away from danger, and does not swim away, and then easily sits on solid ground.

White-necked loon

Adult white-necked loons are outwardly similar to black-throated loons in summer, but their upper neck and nape are light.

They live in Northeast Asia, North America. They tend to migrate in flocks.

Black-billed loon

The black-billed duck is a rather large duck, its length sometimes reaches 91 cm, and its weight is 6.3 kg. Sexual maturity occurs as early as 2 years.

Habitat - North America, Iceland, Newfoundland, Jan Mayen, Bear, etc.

While hunting for fish, she is able to dive to a depth of 60 m. She catches pikes, perches, trout, herring, and flounder.

White-billed loon

Among the loons, this is the largest duck weighing up to 6.4 kg and up to 1 m in length.

The white-billed species is distributed north of the Eurasian coast, on the Arctic shores. Her lifestyle is no different from that of her relatives, except that she is the quietest and most careful. For example, he sleeps only if he is in the middle of a lake (river, etc.). Its offspring hatch longer than others.

Interesting about loons

Why do they only swim?

The loons' love for water is very simple to explain. They are practically unable to move on land.To overcome a strip of land, ducks crawl along it, pushing off with their paws and wings.

For the same reason, they do not sit on the ground, preferring the water surface, otherwise they can break their legs or even break. It is also inconvenient for them to take off from the ground, this is not facilitated by the structure of the membranes on the paws.

Ancient view

Loons arose even during the time of dinosaurs, or rather, at the end of their era. The excavations carried out are proof of this.

Hunting

Despite the average life expectancy of 20 years, due to constant hunting, some species (black-throated, white-billed) are listed in the Red Book.

They are killed for the skin, but their meat is not in demand. Once upon a time, hats for women were made from their fur.

The instinct of self-preservation

When a brood loon senses a threat, it cautiously crawls along a previously dug trench into a reservoir, after which it emits deafening cries, beats its wings on the water. All these actions attract the attention of the male or scare off the enemy.

Hermits

It happens that only 1 couple settles on one reservoir, while others are looking for a place farther away. The white-necked loon is the most hospitable among all, it allows you to be located 50-100 m away from you.