Species: Gavia adamsii

Yellow-billed Loon

Species

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Encyclopedia of Puget Sound

Distinguished from other four loon species by the color of its bill, which is yellow in breeding plumage and pale yellow to ivory in wintering plumage. Breeding plumage has black upper parts with striking white spots, black head and neck with purple and green gloss, and white chest and abdomen; non-breeding plumage is gray-brown. In all plumages, top part of culmen (ridge of upper mandible) is yellow and distinguishable from other species of loon (North 1994, Earnst 2004). Like other loons, this species has a highly modified leg and pelvis structure well-adapted for swimming and diving but allowing almost no ability to walk; therefore, loons place nests at the water's edge and must take flight from water (Earnst 2004).

Classification

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Craniata

Class

Aves

Order

Gaviiformes

Family

Gaviidae

Genus

Gavia

NatureServe

Source:
ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.100106

Classification

Other Global Common Names

Colimbo de Adams - plongeon à bec blanc

Informal Taxonomy

Animals, Vertebrates - Birds - Other Birds

Formal Taxonomy

Animalia - Craniata - Aves - Gaviiformes - Gaviidae - Gavia - ) (AOU 1998).

Ecology and Life History

Short General Description

A large diving bird.

Migration

false - false - true - Migrates between breeding range in arctic tundra regions and non-breeding areas farther south and east. Arrival dates along Alaska coast from St. Lawrence Island to Colville River Delta usually May 15-June 1; at Colville River Delta, usually May 31-June 3; east of Colville River and in Canada, usually June 1-15 (North 1994). Departure in fall generally occurs from late August to mid-September in Alaska, to October in Canada; closely associated with fledging of offspring (Earnst 2004). Migrates singly, in pairs or in loose flocks; occasionally stages in larger groups in the fall (North 1994).

Non-migrant

false

Locally Migrant

false

Food Comments

Forages in deep open water by repeated, lengthy dives. May forage at lake adjacent to nesting lake. An opportunistic forager, takes prey in relation to availability and ease of capture, and consumes underwater. Chicks are fed small, minnow-sized fish. Important prey species include ninespine stickleback (Pungitius pungitius), least cisco (Coregonus sardinella), Alaska blackfish (Dallia pectoralis), fourhorn sculpin (Myoxocephalus quadricornis), isopods and amphipods (Earnst 2004).

Reproduction Comments

Pair formation occurs upon arrival on breeding territory; nests are constructed early to mid-June (North 1994). Nests comprised of peat, pendant grass (Arctophila fulva), sedges (Carex spp.) and sometimes lined with other vegetation (North and Ryan 1988 in Earnst 2004); nests from previous years frequently reused. Eggs are laid in June-July (some July nests represent renestings after loss of eggs); first nests generally are in mid-June in arctic Alaska, but peak nesting may be delayed by late ice melt on lakes. Clutch size: 2. Incubation, by both sexes, lasts 27-28 days. Chicks are dry and active within hours of hatching; brooding by both parents occurs in nest for ~3 days, then little on-shore brooding after ~9 days (North 1994). In some areas, chicks 9-16 days old observed riding on parents back (Sjolander and Agren 1976 in North 1994). Adults forage to feed young for up to 45 days (Earnst 2004). Reproductive maturity probably reached at or after 4 years.

Ecology Comments

Breeding density is low compared to other loons (estimated at one individual per 10 sq km in Alaska) (Johnsgard 1987); defends large territory, usually 17 ha to > 100 ha, used for nesting and brood rearing (Earnst 2004).

Length

Weight

5438

Conservation Status

NatureServe Global Status Rank

Global Status Last Reviewed

2008-01-14

Global Status Last Changed

1996-11-20

Distribution

Conservation Status Map

Global Range

H - >2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles) - H - Breeding range extends patchily throughout the subarctic and arctic tundra of northern Alaska, Canada, and Eurasia. In Alaska, nesting occurs from the Canning River westward to Point Lay and also includes St. Lawrence Island and coastal areas of the Seward Peninsula. In Canada, breeding extends from just east of the MacKenzie River Delta to Hudson Bay, including northern islands. Breeding is most common on Banks and Victoria Islands and in the lake district from Great Slave Lake northeast to northern Hudson Bay, and nesting occurs sparsely elsewhere. In Russia, nesting occurs in narrow strip of coastal tundra from the Chukchi Peninsula in the east to the Taymyr Peninsula and the areas of the Novaya Zemlya River and Pechora River in the west. Small numbers have been reported breeding in Finland and Norway (Earnst 2004). Migration occurs regularly along the coastlines of northern Canada and northern and northwestern Alaska and rarely along the western Alaska coast (Earnst 2004). In winter, the species is regularly but sparsely distributed in nearshore marine waters from Kodiak Island though Prince William Sound, and throughout southeast Alaska and British Columbia. Irregular wintering occurs southwest of Kodiak Island along the Aleutian Islands and along the coast from Washington to Baja California. Several reliable inland sightings exist for migrating and wintering loons in western and central North America. Immatures and possibly some nonbreeding adults remain on wintering grounds throughout the year. Eurasian population winters primarily around Scandinavia and along the Pacific Coast of Siberia, uncommonly in northern Japan, and rarely in China, Great Britain, and continental Europe (Earnst 2004).

Global Range Code

Global Range Description

>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)

ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.100106