Red-Throated Diver

Gavia stellata

Divers are the North American loons and are very old birds - possibly over 60 million years. They breed on freshwater (even very small ponds) in Northern areas and winter at sea as far South as the Mediterranean and the Gulf of Mexico. They are swimming birds with the legs too far back to be able to walk on land (they shuffle).

They are very beautiful with patterned red on their throats. But the most stunning thing about them is their calls which are evocative and very much the essence of the wild. The British and Irish breeding population is just under 1,500 (only ten of those in Ireland).

The smallest of the four living species.

Length	600 mm
Closed wing	286 mm
Weight	1250 gms

A Bird On! Sketch by Chris Mead
Copyright © 1996 by Jacobi Jayne & Company and Chris Mead