Red-throated Loon

How to recognise it

• Summer plumage: ash-grey head and neck with a large red-brown patch on the foreneck
• The only loon with a wholly dark back in breeding plumage
• Winter plumage: dark grey upperparts with small pale spots, white face, throat and underparts
• Thin, straight, pointed bill, often held clearly tilted upwards while swimming

Call and song

In the territorial call the pair calls together: the male a'roo, a'roo and the female a longer aaarooo, aarooo. In flight it gives a fast but rhythmic series of goose-like cackling calls, kak-kak-kak, about five per second. The alarm call is a deep rattle, and in winter it is mostly silent.

Where and when

The Red-throated Loon is a partial migrant that breeds in northern and central Sweden south to central Dalsland. Density is highest in Värmland, Bergslagen and Dalarna. Some winter in southern Sweden, while others move further south. It is reported all year, and its share of all bird reports is highest in Jämtland, Dalarna and Halland.

Food and behaviour

The Red-throated Loon is a dedicated fish-eater that feeds in larger lakes, rivers or the sea, not in its breeding pool. It often flies 4 to 5 km to fetch food. It dives 2 to 9 metres deep and stays under for one minute on average. It is the only loon that can take off directly from land, and in flight it often raises and lowers its head.