Seraphine, you’re on the right track. The Legislature named the common loon as Minnesota’s state bird in 1961 in large part because it’s so distinctive, with its white-spangled black plumage ...

With an estimated 12,000 to 13,000 adult loons, Minnesota has the largest common loon population among the Lower 48 states. (Canada, where the loon is Ontario’s provincial bird, claims 93% of ...