top of page

Collection  >  Order (Birds)  >  Order Information (Gaviiformes)

Gaviiformes

Gaviiformes, from Latin gāvia (“smew”, Mergellus albellus) and Latin -fōrmis (“-shaped”), means “smew-shaped”, in reference to the fact that all the members of this order are smew-shaped animals, although the smew is not a member of this order, but rather of Anseriformes.

Loons, divers.

Photos

DISTRIBUTION

North America and northern Eurasia.

SIZE

They range from 55 cm in length, 91 cm in wingspan and 1 kg in weight up to 97 cm in length, 160 cm in wingspan and 6.4 kg in weight.

MORPHOLOGY

They resemble big ducks in size. They have webbing connecting their toes. In the summer, their plumage is primarily black and white striped, with certain species having gray on the head and neck in addition to a white belly. Their bill is fashioned like a spear.

ECOLOGY & HABITAT

Being migratory birds, they relocate to southern sea coastlines throughout the winter from their nesting grounds in northern freshwater lakes.

DIET

They mostly consume fish, with amphibians, crabs, and other similar mid-sized aquatic animals as supplements. In particular, it has been seen that they consume leeches, crayfish, frogs, snails, and salamanders.

REPRODUCTION

During the summer, they build their nests on large ponds or freshwater lakes. There is normally only one pair in smaller bodies of water. More than one pair may exist in larger lakes, each pair occupying a bay or area of the lake. They prefer locations that are totally encircled by water, such as islands or emergent plants, and mate on land, frequently on the intended nest site. They construct their nests from a range of materials, such as mud, grass, moss, pine needles, leaves, and aquatic vegetation. Depending on the latitude, most clutches of two eggs are laid in May or June.

REFERENCES

del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D. A. (2010). Handbook of the Birds of the World Series. Lynx Edicions.

Lovette, I. J., Fitzpatrick, J. W. (2016). Handbook of Bird Biology. Wiley-Blackwell.

Gill, F. B., Prum, R. O. (2019). Ornithology. W.H. Freeman & Co. Ltd.

Total species known

5

Species in the collection

1

Species in Hong Kong

3

bottom of page