# Common loon (*Gavia immer*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-loon  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The common loon (Gavia immer), also called the great northern loon or great northern diver, is a bird in the family Gaviidae and the order Gaviiformes. It is a medium-sized, migratory, aquatic bird of wetland habitat, with an adult body mass of 4.96 kg and reported values from 4.26 to 5.46 kg. The common loon is a carnivore and aquatic predator, and its geographic range covers 9,453,000 km². It lays 2 eggs per clutch, one clutch per year, incubates them for 27.5 days and reaches sexual maturity at 3.5 years; it is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 4.26 kg – 5.46 kg |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Lifespan | 20 years – 24.1 years |
| Diet | Aquatic predator |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | wetland |
| Egg incubation | 27.5 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 2 |
| Age at maturity | 3 years – 4 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Reproduction | Eggs |
| Lifestyle | Aquatic |
| Migration | Migratory |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Gaviiformes
- family: Gaviidae
- genus: Gavia
- species: *Gavia immer* (Brünnich, 1764)

Synonyms: *Colymbus glacialis*, *Colymbus hyemalis*, *Colymbus imber*, *Colymbus immer*, *Colymbus lumme*, *Gavia imber*, *Gavia immer elasson*, *Gavia immer immer*, *Urinator imber*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the common loon?

The common loon is a bird in the family Gaviidae, order Gaviiformes. It is a medium-sized, migratory, aquatic bird.

### How heavy is a common loon?

An adult common loon weighs 4.96 kg, with reported values from 4.26 to 5.46 kg.

### What does the common loon eat?

The common loon is an aquatic predator and a carnivore.

### What habitat does the common loon live in?

The common loon lives in wetland habitat and forages in water.

### Is the common loon endangered?

No. The common loon is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

### How long does a common loon live?

The common loon has a lifespan of 20 years, with values up to 24 years reported.

### How many eggs does the common loon lay?

The common loon lays 2 eggs per clutch and has 1 clutch per year. The eggs are incubated for 27.5 days.

### Who named the common loon?

The common loon, Gavia immer, carries the authority (Brünnich, 1764).

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), CC BY 4.0, v7. Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Common loon (Gavia immer). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-loon