The loon's head and pointed bill are black and offset by startling red eyes. The neck features a collar of short white vertical stripes. The long body is checkered black and white on top and the underside is a silvery white. Rarely seen anywhere but on more temperate coastal areas during winter, the loon becomes hardly recognizable with a dull grey body, a dingy white throat and brownish eyes during this season. Because the loon's body is long and heavy with legs placed well to the rear, it is extremely clumsy and slow on land.
Indian legend refers to the loon as the bird with a broken back.
Other than to construct a nest and incubate eggs, the loon lives its entire life afloat or in the air. But for what they lack in mobility on land, loons make up on water as powerful swimmers and highly skilled divers. Loons are known to dive to depths of 15 metres or more in search of a meal. Though swift fliers once in the air, loons require a long splashing run to get their heavy bodies airborne. They are equally awkward at landings, slapping down at high speed and plowing water in front to stop themselves.