Yellow-billed Loon

§ Quick facts

§ Encyclopedia

The yellow-billed loon, also known as the white-billed diver, is the largest member of the loon or diver family. Breeding adults have a black head, white underparts and a chequered black-and-white mantle. Non-breeding plumage is drabber with the chin and foreneck white. Its main distinguishing feature is the long straw-yellow bill, which, because the culmen is straight, appears slightly uptilted.

Source: Wikipedia — Yellow-billed loon · Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

§ Identification

Field marks. Very large loon with a heavy, pale ivory-yellow bill held slightly uptilted. Breeding plumage like an oversized Common Loon; winter birds brownish with a pale bill and a dark 'ear' smudge.

Similar species. Common Loon is smaller with a darker, level-held bill; the big pale upturned bill is the key Yellow-billed mark in all seasons.

Voice. Loud yodeling and wailing on the breeding grounds, deeper than Common Loon; silent at sea.

§ Diet & behavior

Diet. Fish, aquatic invertebrates caught by foot-propelled dives.

Behavior. The largest loon, a scarce high-arctic breeder that winters along northern Pacific coasts; dives deep for fish in cold coastal waters.

§ Range

Arctic

§ Habitat

Arctic lakes

§ Threats

Climate change.

§ Conservation status

According to the IUCN Red List, the yellow-billed loon is currently classified as Near Threatened.

§ What helps

Support Arctic conservation.

§ Further reading

• Wikipedia — Yellow-billed loon
• www.fws.gov — authoritative profile of Gavia adamsii
• IUCN Red List — search for Gavia adamsii
• GBIF occurrence records
• Encyclopedia of Life — Gavia adamsii

§ Sources cited

• Cornell Lab of Ornithology — All About Birds
• National Audubon Society
• iNaturalist
• IUCN Red List