Editing Common loon (section)

=== Habitat selection ===
Loons exhibit a strong tendency to settle as breeders on a lake that resembles their natal one, a phenomenon termed natal habitat imprinting. This preference is based on two lake attributes: size and pH.<ref name=":15">{{Cite journal|last1=Piper|first1=Walter H.|last2=Palmer|first2=Michael W.|last3=Banfield|first3=Nathan|last4=Meyer|first4=Michael W.|date=2013|title=Can settlement in natal-like habitat explain maladaptive habitat selection? |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences|volume=280|issue=1765|pages=20130979|doi=10.1098/rspb.2013.0979 |pmid=23804619|pmc=3712445}}</ref> The behaviour is puzzling, because it is as strong in loons hatched on small, acidic lakes as those from large lakes of neutral pH. Hence, the former group is exhibiting active preference for lakes that have been shown to result in higher chick mortality and lower breeding success.<ref name=":14" /><ref name=":15" />