In common loons, the haunting male territorial call is called a yodel.
The yodel is a complex call produced primarily by males. It is associated with territory defense and is often heard during disputes or when a male is establishing ownership of a breeding territory. Individual males have distinctive yodel patterns, allowing researchers to recognize them acoustically.
Common loons have several famous calls. Their wail helps maintain contact, the tremolo is an excited or alarmed “laughing” call, and the hoot is a softer contact sound. These names are sometimes confused because all are eerie, far-carrying vocalizations.
The common loon breeds across lakes in northern North America. Its calls are strongly linked with remote freshwater landscapes, but the yodel itself is not simply a general-purpose song: it has a particularly important territorial and male identity function.