{"id":5580,"date":"2022-11-18T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-18T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/biol325\/?p=5580"},"modified":"2022-11-15T06:19:01","modified_gmt":"2022-11-15T06:19:01","slug":"the-pacific-loon-the-sound-of-canadian-wilderness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/biol325\/2022\/11\/18\/the-pacific-loon-the-sound-of-canadian-wilderness\/","title":{"rendered":"The Pacific Loon: The Sound of Canadian Wilderness"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The beautiful and eerie call of a pacific loon (Gavia pacifica<\/em>) can be heard across dark, and deep freshwater lakes in the summer in the Northern regions of Canada, associating the call with the sign of great Canadian Wilderness. Humans living in these regions have been enamoured by their ghostly call for centuries.. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Identification<\/h2>\n\n\n
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Figure 1. Loon identification from The Sibley Field Guide by David Allen Sibley.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The Pacific loon is in the order Gaviiformes which is an order of aquatic birds containing only the 5 species of loon. It was formerly considered a sub-species of the Arctic Loon (Gavia arctica<\/em>) but now is its own species (Birdweb.org).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pacific Loon is the most abundant loon species in North America (Smithsonian National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute). It is a sleek, heavy-bodied bird with a thick neck and a long pointed bill. Their wings are long and pointed, with feet set at the far back of the body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pacific loons are smaller than geese but larger than ravens. They are smaller than the more known Common Loon (Gavia immer<\/em>), but larger than the Red-Throated Loon (Gavia stellata<\/em>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Breeding adults<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Breeding adults have dusty grey heads with intricate white patches on the back.Their necks are black with crisp white lines running up it, and have a white spotted chinstrap and a white underside. Their bills and legs are very dark. Like their other loon counterparts they have a striking red eye. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Non-breeding adults<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Non-breeding adults are a dark grey\/brown with little white on their backs. They have a lighter underside that reaches up underneath their necks to their bill, often having a darker chinstrap or necklace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Loons species have 4 distinct calls they make while breeding in the spring and summer. On their overwintering ground on the Pacific Coast however, loons are pretty quiet birds (Nature Canada, 2015). The most famous of their calls being the wail. The other calls are the tremolo, yodel, and hoot. They differ slightly from the more known Common Loon (Gavia immer)<\/em>, but see if any of them sound familiar to you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wail: a call given to locate other individuals, like the game ‘Marco Polo’.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Audio 1. Recorded by Jens Kirkeby<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Tremolo: a call given when alarmed or to announce their presence at the breeding ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Audio 2. Recorded by Andrew Spencer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Yodel: a territorial call made by the male to say “Hey! this is my turf!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Audio 3. Recorded by Paul Driver<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hoot: Short calls given to keep contact with each other, for example a between a parent and chick, kind of like a loving hello.<\/p>\n\n\n\n