MinnPost17%
Are loons closer relatives to penguins than to ducks? 14%
By Brian Arola45%
7/14/2026, 3:12:35 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 16 faulty reasoning types, including Appeal to Authority, Appeal to Emotion, and Representativeness Heuristic, with Attempt to Sell a Product or Service as the most egregious example at 28% saturation with 73 hits. Analysis detected 381 faulty-reasoning hits from 261 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 30.4% and a BS Rank of 14% (18,913 of 21,886 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 86.40% of the article peer group.
Yes.
The common loon, Minnesota’s state bird, is more closely related to a penguin than a duck.
Despite loons predominantly living in the northern hemisphere and penguins mostly living in the southern hemisphere, researchers consider them to be genetic cousins.
Taxonomic analyses placed them in an evolutionary cluster tracing back 40 million to 50 million years ago, along with herons and pelicans.
While loons and ducks share habitat on Minnesota lakes, they aren’t close relatives.
Ducks are closer cousins to geese and swans.
After sharing a common ancestor, penguins and loons developed distinct characteristics.
Loons can fly, but struggle to move on land; penguins can’t fly, but waddle on land.
Penguins use flipper-like wings to swim; loons use webbed feet for underwater propulsion.
They have some similar features, however, including dense bones to help dive underwater and their tuxedo coloring.
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Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.
Sources
Wisconsin Public Radio Fascinating Facts About Loons From A Biologist Who’s Studied Them For Decades
National Loon Center Ask the Scientist
The Loon Project Are Loons Ancient?
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