Yellow-billed Loon (Ivvavik National Park)

Yellow-billed Loon

Gavia adamsii

Rare to Ivvavik ³

This species is rare to Ivvavik National Park. If you see this species and manage to take a photo, please upload it to iNaturalist and/or send it to us directly at yukoncdc@gov.yk.ca. You will be helping us expand the scientific knowledge of this bird.

Morphology ⁴

White-billed divers are distinguished by yellow and white stripes along the chest and neck. Common loons (Gavia immer), which they are often confused with, have fewer and thinner white stripes. White-billed divers are the largest of the loon species. Compared to other loons, they have much wider white spots on their back, sides and lower rear. They have smaller eyes as well. Their heads and bills remain in a mostly tilted-up position. Their necks are much thicker than other loons, and they have a visible forehead bump. In the non-breeding season, the black part of their body changes to a lighter brown color. Their bodies are well-designed for their aquatic lifestyle. Their legs are found at the very rear part of their body and are designed to push water rather than for use in walking. The position of their legs actually makes it impossible for them to take flight from the land. Young white-billed divers are miniatures of the adults, except that they are much paler in coloration. Males typically weigh 4-5.8 kg while females are slightly larger and weigh 4.025-6.4 kg. Males are 84-92cm/33-36in long and females are 77-83cm/30-33in long.

Habitat ⁵

White-billed divers live in low-lying tundra regions along freshwater and saltwater coastlines. Their choice of habitat is highly dependent on their safety from predators, protection from egg and nest damage caused by strong waves and food availability. They are most commonly found on the shoreline because they prefer to fish in shallow water and nest along the shorelines.

Threats ⁶

Threats include breeding habitat loss and degradation from oil exploration and development, oil spills and other contaminants, reduction of prey base from overfishing, native subsistence hunting pressure, mortality in commercial, subsistence and research fishery bycatch, and predation (Earnst 2004).

Sources and Credits

(c) Ján Svetlík, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/svetlik/10645446476/
(c) Flickr, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8250/8454667042_e7f97762ac_o.jpg
(c) Yukon Conservation Data Centre, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA)
Adapted by Yukon Conservation Data Centre from a work by (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31395786
Adapted by Yukon Conservation Data Centre from a work by (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31395785
Adapted by Yukon Conservation Data Centre from a work by (c) NatureServe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/28912224

More Info

Range Map

iNaturalist.ca Map

Color	grey, white, yellow
Animal	Bird
Bird	loon

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