| Yellow-billed Loon | |
|---|---|
 On nest | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Gaviiformes |
| Family: | Gaviidae |
| Genus: | Gavia |
| Species: | Gavia adamsii |
The Yellow-billed Loon is a near threatened Arctic diving bird in the family Gaviidae.
Appearance[]
Length: 88cm/35"
Wing Span: 123cm/49"
Weight: 5.4kg/11.8lb
This bird is, on average, slightly larger than the Common Loon, making it the largest of all loons. It has a larger bill that is always pale at the tip, distinguishing them from other loons. The bird during the breeding season has a loon-typical black-and-white plumage, whereas non-breeding and juvenile plumages are paler overall.
Voice[]
Its voice is similar to the Common Loon, but lower, louder, and harsher.
Behavior[]
Feeding[]
Yellow-billed Loons find their prey by sight and do their foraging by diving from the surface and swimming underwater. They often swim along the surface with their heads partly submerged, peering about underwater, watching for prey before they dive. They are propelled mainly by their feet, but may sometimes use their wings also when turning or in bursts of speed. Their diet is not very well known and it's probably mostly that of fish. Apparently, it feeds mainly on small to medium-sized fish, including sculpin, tomcod, rock cod, and also crustaceans and mollusks, probably some insects in summer.
Breeding and Nesting[]
Yellow-billed Loons mate for life. Breeding usually starts in early June, though that depends on the timing of the spring thaw. In courtship displays, pairs dip bills in water repeatedly, splash-dive and swim past each other underwater. The male selects the nest site, which is always very near water, and both the male and female help on building the nest. The nest site may be a bit hidden by surrounding vegetation and they're often reused year to year. The nest is a mound of tundra vegetation with depression at center; sometimes turf is overturned to form a mud foundation. 2 eggs are laid, incubated by by both parents for 27 to 29 days.
Distribution[]
The Yellow-billed Loon breeds on the Arctic coasts of Canada, Alaska and Russia, wintering on the ocean and in bays along the North American Pacific coast, the coasts of northern Norway, and rarely in the Baltic and the North Sea.