Larks (Order: Passeriformes, Family: Alaudidae) Phylum: Sub-Phylum:   Class: Species: Chordata Vertebrata Aves Order: Passeriformes, Family: Alaudidae

---

Loons, or divers as they are often referred to, are water birds who have sleek, streamlined bodies, with short tails and strong, sharp bills. Like other good swimmers, they have powerful legs, which are set well back, and large webbed feet. They can swim long distances underwater and dive to great depths, but they are clumsy on land and only come ashore to breed.

There are four different species which live in northerly parts of the hemisphere, partly on inland waters and partly on coastal waters. The great northern diver has a black-and-white spotted body and collar. The white-billed diver, the largest species, has a whitish-yellow bill. The black-throated diver has black-and-white barrings on its back and the red-throated diver has a dove-gray head and neck. In the winter, all divers become gray-brown in color.