The Minnesota state bird is the Common Loon. We have approximately 12,000 common loons in the summer. We are the Land of 10,000 Lakes :)

Loons have wingspans up to five feet and body lengths up to three feet. They can live up to 30 years in the wild.

One of the interesting things about Loons is that they make four different distinct sounds:

The tremolo; also known as the crazy laugh, which is used to signal alarm, and sometimes at night to vocally advertise and defend their territory.

The wail; which sounds like a wolf's howl and is used frequently during social interactions between loons and may be used to regain contact with a mate during the night chorusing and in answering other loon tremolos.

The hoot; this is a one note call that sounds like "hot." It is mainly used by family members to locate each other and check on their well-being.

The yodel; given only by the male, is a long rising call with repetitive notes and can last up to six seconds. Studies of recordings have shown that the yodel is different for each loon and can be used to identify individual loons.