Common loon

Gavia immer

The Common loon (Gavia immer) is a bird found in United States and Canada. Northern lakes in summer; coasts in winter. It eats fish, leaves and other plant parts and insects and other small invertebrates. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

See the Common loon on the 3D globe →

Scientific name	Gavia immer
Region	North America
Found in	United States and Canada

🏡 Where the Common loon lives

Northern lakes in summer; coasts in winter.

🍽️ What it eats

🐟 Fish70%
🌿 Leaves & plants20%
🐛 Insects & bugs10%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

LCNTVUENCREWEX

Least ConcernThere are plenty of these birds.

💡 Its call sounds like a haunting wail or laugh, and it can dive deep for fish.

Hear the Common loon

Recorded by Jeff Stewart (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC1154922. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Common loon

Where does the Common loon live?

The Common loon lives in United States and Canada. Northern lakes in summer; coasts in winter.

What does the Common loon eat?

fish (about 70%), leaves and other plant parts (about 20%), insects and other small invertebrates (about 10%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Common loon endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from North America

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.