Fauna Series No. 3

Fauna of the National Parks — No. 3 Birds and Mammals of Mount McKinley National Park

Birds

DESCRIPTIONS OF BIRD SPECIES

YELLOW-BILLED LOON
Gavia adamsi [GRAY]

GENERAL APPEARANCE.—An unusually large diving bird. The feet are fully webbed. The summer plumage is striking, with contrasting black and white patterns on the back. Length, 36 inches.

IDENTIFICATION.—Its unusually large size, the black and white color pattern, the ivory-white instead of black bill, are good distinctive characters for this bird.

DISTRIBUTION.—The breeding range and migration routes of the yellow-billed loon are imperfectly known. It is reported to breed on the tundra ponds along the northwest Arctic coast of Alaska.

HABITS.—When I was "frozen in" on the Arctic coast of Alaska near Demarcation Point, in 1913-14, I found yellow-billed loons inhabiting territory similar to portions of McKinley Park. Baird's sandpipers, which were breeding at Demarcation Point, were also found breeding in the high mountain passes of the park. It is doubtful whether the yellow-billed loon breeds in the McKinley district, but such a thing may be possible. We carefully examined the head and neck of a loon of this species that had been shot in the late fall by John Anderson at Wonder Lake. The ivory color of the bill and the nearly straight culmen showed plainly that the bird was a yellow-billed, and not a common, loon.

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Last Modified: Thurs, Oct 4 2001 10:00:00 pm PDT
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