#0728 · 🐦 birds
Red-throated Loon
🇳🇱 Roodkeelduiker ·Gavia stellata
9 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences
what is it?
The red-throated loon (North America) or red-throated diver (Britain and Ireland) ( Gavia stellata ) is a migratory aquatic bird found in the northern hemisphere. The most widely distributed member of the loon or diver family, it breeds primarily in Arctic regions, and winters in northern coastal waters. Ranging from 55 to 67 centimetres (22 to 26 in) in length, the red-throated loon is the smallest and lightest of the world's loons. In winter, it is a nondescript bird,...
base stats
Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).
fun facts
- Spotted 89 times in the Netherlands on iNaturalist.
- 16,107 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
- Weighs up to about 1.7 kg.
- Scientifically named by Erik Pontoppidan in 1763 (263 years ago).
fact sheet
- English
- Red-throated Loon
- Nederlands
- Roodkeelduiker
- scientific name
- Gavia stellata
- class
- Aves
- order
- Gaviiformes
- family
- Gaviidae
- IUCN Red List
- LC · least concern
- sightings in NL
- 89
- sightings in Europe
- 3,783
- sightings worldwide
- 16,107
- GBIF records in NL
- 59,970
- weight
- 1.7 kg
- length
- —
- lifespan
- —
- named
- 1763 by Erik Pontoppidan
IUCN in Dutch: niet bedreigd. Blank means the sources don't say.
relatives· Gaviidae
Sources: iNaturalist taxon 4627, Wikidata Q26691, GBIF 2481958, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.