Great Northern Loons and American Coots forage. Loons breeds on large, deep freshwater lakes in coniferous forest or on open tundra in the North Hemisphere throughout the world. They eat predominantly fish, but will supplement with crustaceans, mollusks, aquatic insects, annelid worms, frogs, other amphibians and plant matter. The North American name of "loon" is a reference to the bird's clumsiness on land, and is derived from Scandinavian words for lame, such as Icelandic "lúinn" and Swedish "lam". Throughout Europe, "Loons" are more commonly referred to as "Divers" Loons are best known for their eerie calls that echo across clear lakes of the northern wilderness, a common sound effect in almost any film taking place in the near a lake. Writer John McPhee described the call as “the laugh of the deeply insane”. The voice and appearance of the great northern loon has made it prominent in several Native American tales. These include a story of a loon which created the world in a Chippewa story; a Micmac saga describes Kwee-moo, the loon who was a special messenger of Glooscap (Glu-skap), the tribal hero; native tribes of British Columbia believed that an excess of calls from this bird predicted rain, and even brought it; and the tale of the loon's necklace was handed down in many versions among Pacific Coast peoples. Folk names include big loon, black-billed loon, call-up-a-storm, ember-goose, greenhead, guinea duck, imber diver, ring-necked loon, and Walloon. A hungry loon family can put away a lot of fish; Biologists estimate that loon parents and their 2 chicks can eat about a half-ton of fish over a 15-week period. At times, loons can be seen sticking one foot up out of the water and waggling it—this may be a means of cooling off, as scientists have observed loons waggling their feet more often on sunny, midsummer days. The great northern loon, where it is known as the common loon, is the state bird of Minnesota and the provincial bird of Ontario. The loon also appears on the one dollar Canadian coin called a “looonie”. The American Coot's breeding habitat extends from marshes in southern Quebec to the Pacific coast of North America and as far south as northern South America. Coots are not ducks. Unlike the webbed feet of ducks, coots have broad, lobed scales on their lower legs and toes that fold back with each step in order to facilitate walking on dry land. Groups of coots are called "covers" or "rafts". On the Louisiana coast, the Cajun word for coot is pouldeau, from French for "coot", poule d'eau – literally "water hen". The saying “Bald as a Coot” (circa 1400 AD) refers to the white patch on the beak and forehead of the coot. Rendered in Poser 2014 without postwork. Model Credits: Background Trees (DinoRaul), Duck Pond (Ken Gilliland) and Songbird Remix Waterfowl v4: Geese, Loons, Grebes & Coots (Ken Gilliland)