Scientific Illustrator


Bird Illustrations: Ducks: Common Loon, Watercolor Sketch:



Common Loon (Gavia immer), watercolor

About the illustration:
Commissioned by: Wisconsin Sea Grant, University of Wisconsin­Madison

About common loons:
Common loons are the national bird of Canada. They are also known as the great northern diver. They breed in Canada and the northern U.S. They eat fish and other underwater animals by diving down and catching the prey in their beaks.

According to Wikipedia, "all living species of loons are members of one genus (Gavia) in a family (Gaviidae), and order (Gaviiformes) all of their own.

Taxonomy:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata (having a spinal chord)
Class: Aves (birds)
Order: Gaviiformes (loons)
Family: Gaviidae (loons)
Genus: Gavia (loons)
Species: G. immer

More information about common loons:
Wikipedia, Loons and Great Northern Divers

Loons in movies:

"A Field Guide to Hollywood Bird Songs" by Robert Winkler

"Birding at the Movies" by Michael Shapiro



"...you are not likely to hear a Common Loon in a junkyard in New York City in the middle of the night, in the middle of winter (as I heard while watching a movie called 'Eddie and the Cruisers')..."





 

Keywords related to art on this page: bird artist, illustrator, loons in art, painter, birds, loon painting, divers, illustrations, diver, picture, pictures, image, images, natural, science, nature

All images on this site are copyrighted by Gina Mikel. Please contact for terms of use.

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Last updated: Friday, May 9th 2008