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Red-throated Diver
last update: Mar 04, 2009 11:04 AM
Also known as the Red-throated Loon
Latin name: Gavia stellata
Population: 490,000-1,500,000 individuals
Cites classified: Least Concern
Where found: The Red-throated Diver breeds primarily in the Arctic regions of northern Eurasia and North America, and winters in temperate coastal waters.
Age/ life expectancy: unknown
Wingspan: 100-120 cm
Length: 53-69 cm
Weight: 1-2.7 kg
Mating/Breeding: The Red-throated Diver is a monogamous species which forms long-term pair bonds. Both sexes build the nest, which is a shallow scrape (or occasionally a platform of mud and vegetation) lined with vegetation and sometimes a few feathers, and placed within a half-metre (18 in) of the edge of a small pond. The female lays two eggs (though clutches of 1–3 have been recorded); they are incubated for 24–29 days, primarily by the female. The young birds are precocial upon hatching: downy and mobile with open eyes; both parents feed them (small aquatic invertebrates initially, then small fish) for 38–48 days. Parents will perform distraction displays to lure predators away from the nest and young.
Eggs: greenish or olive-brownish, spotted with black
Hibernation: Winters along the Pacific coast from the Aleutian Islands to Baja California and on the Atlantic Coast from southern Newfoundland to Georgia. Also on temperate near-shore waters off Europe and Asia.
Hunting Habits: dives deep and swims, using its bill to grab rather than spear
Feed on: primarily fish, but sometimes feeds on molluscs, crustaceans, frogs, aquatic invertebrates, insects, fish spawn, or even plant material
Predators: On the breeding grounds, Arctic and Red Foxes are major predators of eggs, while Great Skuas, Arctic Skuas and various species of Larus gulls (including Great Black-backed Gulls and Glaucous Gulls) are predators of both eggs and young.
Colour/Body: Like all divers, it is long-bodied and short-necked, with its legs set far back on its body. The sexes are similar, although males tend to be slightly larger and heavier than females. In breeding plumage, the adult has a grey head and neck (with narrow black and white stripes on the back of the neck), a triangular red throat patch, white underparts and a dark mantle. It is the only diver with an all-dark back in breeding plumage. The non-breeding plumage is drabber with the chin, foreneck and much of the face white, and considerable white speckling on the mantle. Its bill is thin, straight and sharp, and the bird often holds it at an uptilted angle. Though the colour of the bill changes from black in summer to pale grey in winter, the timing of the colour change does not necessarily correspond to that of the bird's overall plumage change. Its nostrils are narrow slits located near the base of the bill. Its iris is reddish.
Interesting Trivia:
- The Red-throated Loon, unlike other loons, does not need to patter on the water's surface on a long takeoff, but rather can take flight directly from land if necessary.
- The Red-throated Loon is the only loon that regularly forages far from its breeding territory, returning from distant lakes or the sea with fish for the young.
