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  Profile

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  In flight

Seabirds

Yellow-billed Loon

Gavia adamsii

• epic
• 100 km/h
• Near Threatened

Larger, paler, and more elusive than the common loon. Delivers from lakes most maps never bother with.

Population

11,000-21,000 mature individuals (declining)

Habitat

Breeds on deep, clear freshwater Arctic tundra lakes, pools, and rivers with stony or sandy substrates and stable water levels; winters in inshore marine waters, fjords with muddy substrates, and sheltered coastal inlets, generally avoiding ice-covered areas

Fun fact

The largest and rarest of the world's five loon species, the Yellow-billed Loon breeds farther north than any other loon, nesting on Arctic tundra lakes as far as 78°N.

Range

Breeds across the Arctic coasts of Russia, Alaska, and Canada; winters at sea off western North America (Alaska to British Columbia), Norway, and eastern Asia (Japan, Korea, China), with vagrant records in over 20 countries including occasional records as far south as Mexico and Spain

Diet

Fish specialist — sculpins, tomcod, rock cod, and other fish in marine winter habitat; sculpins, ninespine sticklebacks, least cisco, and Alaska blackfish on freshwater breeding lakes — supplemented with crustaceans, molluscs, and annelids, especially when feeding chicks

Size

0.86 m

Wingspan

1.47 m

Lifespan

25 years