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The Great Northern Diver, known in North America as the Common Loon (Gavia immer), is a large member of the loon or diver family (28" to 36"), although it is slightly smaller than the similar White-billed Diver.

It breeds in Canada, parts of the northern United States, Greenland, and Alaska. There is a smaller population in IcelandThe Republic of Iceland is an island nation in the northern Atlantic Ocean, located between Greenland and Scotland, northwest of the Faroe Islands. Lydveldid Island ( In Detail) (Full size) National motto: none Official languageNone. Icelandic de facto''.. The female lays 2 eggs on a mound of vegetation very close to water. Both parents build the nest and feed the young.

It winters at sea or on large lakes over a much wider range.

Distinguishing identifiers: The only diver with head all black and a white necklace; black bill distinguishes it from the White-billed Diver.

Breeding adults have a black head, white underparts, and a chequered black-and-white mantle. Non-breeding plumage is drabber, with the chin and foreneck white. Its bill is grey or whitish and held horizontally.

It flies with its neck outstretched.

This species, like all divers, is a specialist fish-eater, catching its prey underwater, as deep as 200 feet. Fresh water diets consist of pike, perchFor the unit of measurement, see pole''. Perca flavescens Yellow perch Perca fluviatilis European perch Perca schrenkii Balkhash perch A perch is a freshwater bony fish belonging to the family Percidae. Perch, of which there are three species, lend their, sunfishSeveral kinds of things are named sunfish : A brand of sailboat Various fishes: Marine fishes: The ocean sunfish Mola mola The opah Lampris guttatus , a type of mackerel The moonfishes of genus Selene ( order Perciformes) The African pompano Alectis cilia, troutThis article is about fish. The Trout Quintet is a work by Schubert. Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss Trout is the common name given to a number of species of freshwater fishes belonging to the salmon family, Salmonidae''. All fish properly called trout and bassLargemouth Bass Bass (rhyming with "mass") is a name shared by many different species of popular game fish. The striped bass belongs to the family of Percicthyidae and its other members include white bass and white perch. The striped bass and white bass a; salt water diets consist of rock cod, flounderFlounder is also the name of a character from Disney's The Little Mermaid. The flounder is an exceptionally odd looking fish which provides an example for pro-evolutionary arguments. The flounder lies on its side on the ocean floor. The eye that should fas, sea trout and herring.

The tremolo call, sometimes referred to as loon laughter, is an eerie wailing, a symbol of the Canadian wilderness, and often used as atmosphere in horror films.

Folk names include: big loon, black-billed loon, call-up-a-storm, ember-goose, greenhead, guinea duck, imber diver, ring-necked loon, walloon.

These birds have disappeared from some lakes in eastern North America due to the effects of acid rain and pollution. Artificial floating nesting platforms have been provided for loons in some lakes to reduce the impact of changing water levels due to dams and other human activities.

The generic mean Gavia is Latin for sea smew (although divers are not Smew). The specific mean immer either is:

1. related to Swedish immer and emmer, the gray or blackened ashes of a fire, referring to its dark plumage; or
2. Latin immergo, to immerse, and immersus, submerged.