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The black-throated loon (Gavia arctica) is a migratory aquatic bird that primarily breeds in freshwater lakes in northern Europe and Asia. It winters along sheltered, ice-free coasts of the northern Atlantic and Pacific oceans. First formally described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, it is about 70 centimetres (28 in) long and can weigh from 1.3 to 3.4 kilograms (2.9 to 7.5 lb). In breeding plumage, it has mostly black upperparts, a grey head and hindneck, white and black sides, mostly white underparts and flanks, and a mostly black throat. The loon builds an oval-shaped nest about 23 centimetres (9.1 in) across, in vegetation on or near the breeding lake. It usually lays two eggs, brown-green with dark splotches. Chicks are fed a diet of small fish and invertebrates, contrasting with the mostly fish diet of the adult. Overall, the population of this loon is declining, but the species is not threatened. It is protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 and the African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement. (Full article...)