Red-Throated Loons Are Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2023 February Birds

Summary: Red-throated loons are Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2023 February birds whom the National Audubon Society adds to vulnerable North American wildlife.

Red-throated Diver (Colymbus septentrionalis); 1-male adult summer plumage (right), 2-winter plumage (left); 3-adult female (second right); 4-young (second left); Drawn from Nature by J.J. Audubon, F.R.S., F.L.S.; Engraved, Printed & Coloured by R. Havell, 1834; John James Audubon, The Birds of America, No. 41, Plate CCII: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Red-throated loons are Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2023 February birds whom the National Audubon Society adds to vulnerable North American wildlife who abide in, access from Canada and Mexico, the United States.

The Gaviiformes (from Latin gāvia, “gull” and -fōrmis, “-shaped”) loon order’s Gaviidae (from Greek -ειδής, “-like” via Latin -idæ) loon family member breeds May through September. The scientifically classified Gavia stellata (from Latin stēllāta, “starry[-throated patch]”), categorized by Erik Pontoppidan (Aug. 24, 1698-Dec. 20, 1764), choose coastal and inland lakes and ponds. Red-throated loons, red-throated divers commonly, dwell on sandy-soiled, soft substrates within 3 miles (4.83 kilometers) of Asian, European and North American shorelines during non-breeding, winter seasons.

Moss-, other vegetation-scraped heaps and mud-scraped mounds entertain one-, two-, three-egg, single-brooded clutches through coastal to inland, open to woody, 3,511-foot (1,010-meter) altitudes above sea level.

Breeding range of Red-throated Diver, Gavia stellata; blue=winter range; mapping based upon Norman Arlott, Birds of the Palearctic: Non-passerines (London: Collins, 2009; p. 208); Peter Harrison, Seabirds: an identification guide (London: Croom Helm, 1983); David Sibley, The North American Bird Guide (Sussex: Pica Press, 2000): Jimfbleak, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Physically and sexually mature females furnish black-blotched or spotted, black-brown, sometimes green, sometimes olive-buff, sometimes glossy, sometimes long elliptical, 2.91-inch- (74-millimeter-) long, 1.77-inch- (45-millimeter-) wide eggs.

Adult females, over 23-year lifespans, get their second egg two days after their first, their third two days after their second, for 24- to 29-day incubations. Precocial (from Latin praecox, “early-ripened, precocious, premature, untimely”) nestlings have black-brown, black-gray, brown-gray-white, short-, thick-downed backs; paler cheeks, throats, fore-necks, upper-breasts and flanks; and gray-white underparts. First down sometimes is mouse-gray even as bills and feet, irides (from Greek ἶρις, “rainbow” via Latin īris) and second down invoke black-brown, brown and paleness.

Red-throated loons journey onto Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2023 as February birds along coastal Atlantic and Pacific North America; Atlantic, Baltic, Mediterranean Europe; and Pacific Asia.

illustration of egg of Red-throated Diver; Henry Seebohm, Coloured Figures of the Eggs of British Birds (1896), Plate 21 (between pages 96-97); Pawson & Brailsford, Lith., Sheffield: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Nestling periods kindle knowing how to swim within two days; fly within 38 to 50 days; eat fish and invertebrates such as crustaceans, mollusks and spiders.

Physically and sexually mature red-throated loons with dark eyes, upturned bills and white-speckled backs look like non-breeding adults even as they log gray-white, not white, faces. Both parents make their grass-, mud- and twig-lined, mating-season nests, where they monitor their near-month-long egg incubations and where they mount their newborns on their backs. Immature red-throated loons navigate nicer on land than on water their first month, after which they need no 20-yard (18.29-meter) starts to land and water takeoffs.

Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2023 offers, as February birds, 24- to 27-inch- (60.96- to 68.58-centimeter-) long, 2.2- to 5.9-pound (0.99- to 2.68-kilogram), one-, one-plus-year-old red-throated loons.

juvenile red-throated diver (Gavia stellata); Friday, Sep. 14, 2007, 18:53: Mark Jobling, CC BY 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons

Forty-two- to 44-inch (1.07- to 1.12-meter) wingspans possibilitize their direct, fast flight performed with constant wingbeats and with bills and heads positioned lower than other loons.

Red-throated loons qualify as the petitest loons and as the only loons with landed takeoffs and with upturned bills and heads downturned during their flight patterns. They remain reticent apart their cat- or gull-like, high wails and goose-like, low growls; goose-like, rapid, breeding-ground calls; kwuk flight calls; and winter-beginning, winter-ending wailing calls. Arctic (Vulpes lagopus) and red (Vulpes vulpes) foxes; gulls (Laria species); Arctic (Stercorarius parasiticus), long-tailed (Stercorarius longicaudus) and pomarine skuas (Stercorarius pomarinus); and people seek them.

Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2023 treats red-throated loons as February birds outside breeding-friendly northernmost United States, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia.

flight pattern of Red-throated Diver (French: le plongeon catmarin; Latin: Gavia stellata); October 2004 original by Renato Caniatti; February 2010 retouched (vectorisation) modification by Totodu: CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Red-throated Diver (Colymbus septentrionalis); 1-male adult summer plumage (right), 2-winter plumage (left); 3-adult female (second right); 4-young (second left); Drawn from Nature by J.J. Audubon, F.R.S., F.L.S.; Engraved, Printed & Coloured by R. Havell, 1834; John James Audubon, The Birds of America, No. 41, Plate CCII: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Gavia_stellata_(illustrations)#/media/File:202_Red-Throated_Diver.jpg; No Copyright--United States (NoC--US), via ULS (University of Pittsburgh Library System) @ https://digital.library.pitt.edu/islandora/object/pitt%3Aaud0202

Breeding range of Red-throated Diver, Gavia stellata; blue=winter range; mapping based upon Norman Arlott, Birds of the Palearctic: Non-passerines (London: Collins, 2009; p. 208); Peter Harrison, Seabirds: an identification guide (London: Croom Helm, 1983); David Sibley, The North American Bird Guide (Sussex: Pica Press, 2000): Jimfbleak, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gavia_stellata_map.png

illustration of egg of Red-throated Diver; Henry Seebohm, Coloured Figures of the Eggs of British Birds (1896), Plate 21 (between pages 96-97); Pawson & Brailsford, Lith., Sheffield: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eggs_of_British_Birds_Seebohm_1896_Plate21.jpg; Not in copyright, via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/colouredfigureso00seeb/page/96/mode/2up; Not in copyright, via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/7272407

juvenile red-throated diver (Gavia stellata); Friday, Sep. 14, 2007, 18:53: Mark Jobling, CC BY 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Juvenile_red_throated_diver.jpg

flight pattern of Red-throated Diver (French: le plongeon catmarin; Latin: Gavia stellata); October 2004 original by Renato Caniatti; February 2010 retouched (vectorisation) modification by Totodu: CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Plongeon_catmarin_en_vol_vectorisé.svg

For further information:

Baicich, Paul J.; and Colin J. O. Harrison. 2005. "Red-throated Loon (Gavia stellata)." Pages 45-46. Nests, Eggs, and Nestlings of North American Birds. Second edition. Princeton NJ; and Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England: Princeton University Press.

Bull, John; and John Farrand, Jr. July 1977. "189, 191 Red-throated Loon Gavia stellata." Pages 337-338. National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds: Eastern Region. Revised by John Farrand, Jr. Second edition, fully revised, fifth printing, July 1977. Chanticleer Press Edition. New York NY: Borzoi Book, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.

Horner, Peter Andrew. 2002. "Red-throated loon Gavia stellata." Pages 163-164. In: Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. Second Edition. Volume 8, Birds I. Edited by Michael Hutchins, Jerome A. Jackson, Walter J. Bock and Donna Olendorf. Farmington Hills MI: Gale Group.

Howell, Catherine Herbert (Writer); and Mary B. Dickinson (Editor). 1999. "Red-throated Loon Gavia stellata." Pages 20-21. Field Guide to the Birds of North America. Third Edition. Washington DC: National Geographic Society.

Kobasa, Paul A. (Editor-in-Chief). 2007. "Red-throated Loon (Gavia stellata)." Page 68. Birds of the United States and Canada. Third printing, November 2009. Chicago IL: World Book, Inc.

Marriner, Derdriu. 21 January 2023. "Mallard Ducks Aced Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2022 as January Birds." Earth and Space News. Sunday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/01/mallard-ducks-aced-audubon-arctic-wall.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 1 January 2023. "Red Foxes Are January Wildlife on Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2023." Earth and Space News. Sunday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/01/red-foxes-are-january-wildlife-on.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 3 December 2022. "Dark-Eyed Juncos Are December Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/12/dark-eyed-juncos-are-december-birds-on.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 26 November 2022. "Eared Grebes Are November Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/11/eared-grebes-are-november-birds-on-2022.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 1 October 2022. "Barred Owls Are October Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/10/barred-owls-are-october-birds-on-2022.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 3 September 2022. "Brown Pelicans Are September Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/09/brown-pelicans-are-september-birds-on.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 7 August 2022. "Allen’s Hummingbirds Are August Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Sunday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/08/allens-hummingbirds-are-august-birds-on.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 30 July 2022. "Reddish Egrets Are July Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/07/reddish-egrets-are-july-birds-on-2022.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 4 June 2022. "American Oystercatchers Are June Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/06/american-oystercatchers-are-june-birds.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 5 May 2022. "Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks Are May Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Sunday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/05/rose-breasted-grosbeaks-are-may-birds.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 10 April 2022. "Crested Caracaras Appear as April Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Sunday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/04/crested-caracaras-appear-as-april-birds.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 19 March 2022. "Cerulean Warblers Are March Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/03/cerulean-warblers-are-march-birds-on.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 5 February 2022. "Northern Bobwhites Are February Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/02/northern-bobwhites-are-february-birds.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 1 January 2022. "Florida Scrub-Jays Are January Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/01/florida-scrub-jays-are-january-birds-on.html

Peterson, Roger Tory. 2010. "Red-Throated Loon Gavia stellata." Pages 58-59. Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Eastern and Central North America. With Contributions from Michael DiGiorgio, Paul Lehman, Michael O'Brien and Jeffrey A. Gordon, Larry Rosche and Bill Thompson III. Sixth Edition. Boston MA; and New York NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

"Red-Throated Loon Gavia stellata." Boreal Songbird Initiative > Meet the Boreal Birds > Boreal Bird Guide > Comprehensive Guide to Boreal Birds > View as Field List > Field List of Boreal Birds.
Available @ https://www.borealbirds.org/bird/red-throated-loon

Robbins, Chandler S.; Bertel Bruun; and Herbert S. Zim. 2001. "Red-Throated Loon Gavia stellata." Pages 18-19. Birds of North America: A Guide to Field Identification. Revised by Jonathan P. Latimer, Karen Stray Nolting and James Coe. Golden Field Guide. New York NY: St. Martin's Press.

Stokes, Donald and Lillian. 1996. "Red-throated Loon Gavia stellata." Page 3. Stokes Field Guide to Birds: Eastern Region. Boston MA; and New York NY: Little Brown and Company; and Toronto ON Canada: Little, Brown & Company (Canada) Limited.

Udvardy, Miklos D. F. 1985. "Red-throated Loon Gavia stellata." Page 512. In: Bayard H. McConnaughey and Evelyn McConnaughey. Pacific Coast. The Audubon Society Nature Guides. Chanticleer Press Edition. New York NY: Borzoi Book, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.

Udvardy, Miklos D. F. 1977. 30 August 1977. "166, 272. Red-throated Loon (Gavia stellata) Loons (Gaviidae)." Page 371. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds: Western Region. Reprinted eleven times. Thirteenth Printing, May, 1987. New York NY: Borzoi Book, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.; and Toronto, Canada: Random House of Canada Limited.