Loon

1
Loon

• By
• Bruce Irvine
• November 2007

2
Life Cycle

• Perform mating dance
• Nest early June nest
• Takes 30 days to hatch
• Carry young on back
• Has to wait until 10 weeks old to fly
• Care for themselves after 8 to 11 weeks

3
Habitat/Shelter

• Northern wilderness
• Lakes in summer
• Ocean coasts in winter
• Southern Lakes in winter
• Spends winter along coastal areas
• Large nest on reed and brush

4
Diet

• Small fish, insects, frogs, weeds, crustaceans,
  pickerel bass, crayfish, shrimp, leeches and
  small invertebrates
• Both parents care for chicks
• feed them fresh insects and small invertebrates
• Uses a dagger shaped bill

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Adaptations

• Dagger shaped bill
• Sleek body for swimming
• Big webbed feet to push in water
• Can feed in deep water
• Feathers help keep dry
• Laughing calls
• Torpedo shaped body to cut through water
• Black, white with red eye
• Neck is glossy black and green
• Short tail
• 30 inches long

6
Fun Unusual Facts

• Spend most of life in water
• The cousins are the Yellow-Billed loon, Red
  throated loon and the arctic loon
• Loon chicks go first swim when just a few hours
  old

7
Works Cited

• Loon by Ross
• NatureWorks at www.http//nbtv.org
• World Book 2006