Minnesota State Bird
Common Loon

Official Minnesota State Bird: Common Loon
Family: Gaviidae, Loons
Scientific name: Gavia immer
Length: 32" (81 cm)
Diet: Fish; aquatic intertebrates, especially crustaceans. Fish usually pursued and swallowed underwater.
Voice: Listen to Common Loon Song (recorded by Cornell Lab of Ornithology) Low, melancholy yodeling or wailing cries. Tremolo of five to ten notes on even pitch hahahahahahaha heard year-round, often in flight; sometimes a short kuk or gek in flight; sometimes a short kuk or gek in flight. In summer an undulating whe-ooo quee and rising wail hoooo-lii.
Habitat: Conifer lakes, tundra ponds (summer); open lakes, bays, sea. Winters mainly in coastal waters or on large, ice-free inland bodies of water.
Displays: Bill dipping, splash-diving, "penguin dancing" (vertical position with wings outspread). Yodel call signals territorial ownership.
Number of broods: 1
Nest: On aquatic vegetation at edge of shallow water. Wet mass of aquatic vegetation. Occasionally concealed. Perennial. Continues building during incubation. Occasionally simple scrape.
Eggs: Averages 1-2 olive-brown/olive-green eggs, sparsely marked with black/brown. 3.5" (89 mm).
Incubation period: 26-31 days
Fledge: 75-80 days after hatching
Longevity Record: 19 Years and 1 months (according to USGS Bird Banding Lab)

Dating back 60 million years, the common loon is one of the earth's oldest living bird species. The common loon became the Minnesota State Bird in 1961.

Minnesota State Bird Books