Gavia adamsii

• Overview
• Common Names
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Overview

Near Threatened

Common Names

Click on the language to view common names.

Description

Physical Description

Habitat

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 3,869 meters (0 to 12,694 feet).[1]

Ecology: Behaviour This species is fully migratory1. It breeds from early June (largely depending upon the timing of the spring thaw) in solitary pairs, after which it travels southwards and towards the coast1 to its wintering grounds , where it is present between October and May3. Outside of the breeding season the species occurs singly, in pairs or in small groups3. Habitat Breeding The species may breed on low-lying Arctic coasts and estuaries but is more common on freshwater pools , lakes or rivers in the Arctic tundra1, showing a preference for deep6, clear lakes with stony or sandy substrates2 where water levels do not fluctuate5. Optimum habitats include lakes where the water does not completely freeze, which have dependable supplies of fish and which have highly convoluted shorelines and aquatic vegetation providing habitats for fish and sites for nesting and brood rearing6. The species generally avoids forested areas1 but may fly long distances to feed away from breeding waters3. Non-breeding Outside of the breeding season the species inhabits inshore waters1, fjords with muddy substrates4 and inlets3 along sheltered coasts1, generally avoiding ice-covered waters1. Diet Its diet is little known but may consist predominantly of fish (e.g. Cottidae, Microgadus proximus and Gadus morhua) as well as crustaceans, molluscs and marine annelids1. Breeding site The nest is a small depression2 in a mound of plant matter or turf1 constructed on dry land1, 2 1 m away5 from the edge of water1, 2, usually on the shores of lakes with deep6, clear water and stony or sandy substrates2 in sites providing good visibility over the surrounding land and water5.

[2].

List of Habitats:

•     5     Wetlands (inland)   
  
•     5.1     Wetlands (inland) - Permanent Rivers/Streams/Creeks (includes waterfalls )   
  
•     5.5     Wetlands (inland) - Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha)   
  
•     5.7     Wetlands (inland) - Permanent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha)   
  
•     5.10     Wetlands (inland) - Tundra Wetlands (incl. pools and temporary waters from snowmelt)   
  
•     9     Marine Neritic   
  
•     9.1     Marine Neritic - Pelagic   
  
•     9.2     Marine Neritic - Subtidal Rock and Rocky Reefs   
  
•     9.3     Marine Neritic - Subtidal Loose Rock/pebble/gravel   
  
•     9.4     Marine Neritic - Subtidal Sandy   
  
•     9.5     Marine Neritic - Subtidal Sandy-Mud   
  
•     9.7     Marine Neritic - Macroalgal/Kelp   
  
•     9.9     Marine Neritic - Seagrass (Submerged)   
  
•     9.10     Marine Neritic - Estuaries   
[more info]

Biology

Diet

Primarily:

Fish

Lesser Quantities of: Aquatic Invertebrates

Reproduction

• Clutch Size: 2
• Length of Incubation : 27-29 days
• Number of Broods: 1

Migration

migratory

Taxonomy

Synonyms

Gavia adamsii (Gray, 1859)

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 13-Jun-2007

Similar Species

Common Loon

Members of the genus Gavia

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 11 species and subspecies in this genus:

G. adamsii (Yellow-Billed Loon) · G. arctica (Black-Throated Loon) · G. arctica arctica (Arctic Loon) · G. arctica pacifica (Arctic Loon) · G. arctica viridigularis (Arctic Loon) · G. immer (Great Northern Loon) · G. immer elasson (Lesser Black-Billed Loon) · G. immer immer (Lesser Black-Billed Loon) · G. pacifica (Pacific Loon) · G. stellata (Red-Throated Loon) · G. stellata stellata (Pepper-Shinned Loon)

More Info

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Further Reading

• A hand-list of British birds, with an account of the distribution of each species in the British Isles and abroad. By Ernst Hartert, F. C. R. Jourdain, N. F. Ticehurst and H. F. Withersby. London, Witherby, 1912. url p. 159, p. 225.
• Abstract of proceedings of the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club of Philadelphia. [Philadelphia]Delaware Valley Ornithological Club. url p. 27.
• Acta Societatis pro Fauna et Flora Fennica. Helsinki: Societas, 1875-1980. url p. 40.
• An early pleistocene avifauna from Inglis, Florida / by Gail Elaine Speaker Carr. 1981. url p. 6.
• Animal Ecology. Englewood Cliffs, N.J., Prentice-Hall, 1961. url p. 458.
• Beached marine birds and mammals of the North American West Coast: a manual for their census and identification / by David G. Ainley. .. [et al.] Pt. Reyes Bird Observatory; with drawings by Helen C. Strong; performed for National Coastal Ecosystems Team, Office of Biological Services, Fish and Wildlife Service [Washington, D.C.]: For sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. G.P.O., [1980] url p. 116, p. 194.
• Birds of the Chukchi Peninsula and Wrangel Island = (Ptitsy Chukotskogo poluostrova i ostrova Vrangelya) / L.A. Portenko; translated from Russian [by P.M. Rao]. New Delhi: Published for the Smithsonian Institution and the National Science Foundation, Washington, D.C., by Amerind Pub. Co., 1981- url .
• Birds of the Rockies, by Leander S. Keyser... with eight full-page plates [four in color] by Louis Agassiz Fuertes; many illustrations in the text by Bruce Horsfall, and eight views of localities from photographs; with a c Chicago, A. C. McClurg and co., 1902. url p. 308.
• Birds of the world; a popular account. With a chapter on the anatomy of birds, by Frederic A. Lucas; the whole edited by Robert Ridgway. New York, Holt, 1909. url p. 857.
• Breviora. 1978 Cambridge, Mass.: Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, [1952- url p. 1, p. 7.
• Bulletin - United States National Museum. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, [etc.];1877-1971. url p. 246, p. 288, p. 30, p. 316, p. 395.
• Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History). London: BM(NH) url p. 205.
• Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College. 101 1948 Cambridge, Mass.: The Museum, 1863- url p. 29.
• California fish and game. [San Francisco, etc.]: State of California, Resources Agency, Dept. of Fish and Game. url p. 118.
• Canada's missing dimension: science and history in the Canadian Arctic Islands / Ottawa: Canadian Museum of Nature, 1990. url p. 520.
• Catalogue of Canadian birds / by John Macoun and James M. Macoun. Ottawa: Canada Dept. of Mines, Geological Survey Branch, 1909. url p. 11.
• Catalogue of Canadian birds, Ottawa, Government Printing Bureau, 1909. url .
• Catalogue of Canadian birds, by John Macoun. .. and James M. Macoun. .. Ottawa, Government printing bureau, 1909. url p. 11.
• Catalogue of Canadian birds. .. Ottawa, Printed by S. E. Dawson, 1900-04. url .
• Catalogue of birds of the Americas and the adjacent islands in Field Museum of Natural History. Charles E. Hellmayr, Boardman Conover. 13 1948 Chicago: Field Museum of Natural History, 1948. url p. 17.
• Check-list of North American birds. [Ithaca, N.Y.]1957. url p. 2.
• Check-list of North American birds: the species of birds of North America from the Arctic through Panama, including the West Indies and Hawaiian Islands / prepared by the Committee on Classification and Nomenclature of the American Orni Lawrence, Kan.: American Ornithologists' Union, 1983. url p. 6, p. 798.
• Check-list of birds of the world. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1931-1987. url p. 139, p. 35.
• Color key to North American birds, with bibliographical appendix, by Frank M. Chapman. .. with upwards of 800 drawings, by Chester A. Reed, B.S. New York, D. Appleton & Company, 1912. url p. 340, p. 340, p. 44.
• Color key to North American birds; with bibliographical appendix. New York, D. Appleton, 1912. url .
• Conservation of marine birds of northern North America: papers from the international symposium held at the Seattle Hyatt House, Seattle, Washington, 13-15 May 1975 / edited by James C. Bartonek and David N. Nettleship; sponsored by Natural Resources Council of America. .. [et al.]. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, 1979. url p. 117.
• Ecological investigations of the tundra biome in the Prudhoe Bay region, Alaska / edited by Jerry Brown. [Fairbanks: University of Alaska], 1975. url p. 126.
• Fauna of the Aleutian Islands and Alaska Peninsula, by Olaus J. Murie. Invertebrates and fishes collected in the Aleutians, 1936-38, by Victor B. Scheffer. Washington, Dept. of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1959 url , p. 29.
• Fishery circular / U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Fisheries. [Washington]: The Bureau, 1931-1939. url p. 91.
• Guide to taxidermy, by Chas. K. Reed and Chester A. Reed. Illustrated by drawings and photographs of mounted specimens by the authors and Mr. N. F. Stone. Worcester, Mass., C.K. Reed, 1914. url p. 234.
• North American birds eggs, New York, Doubleday, Page & company, 1904. url , .
• North American birds eggs, by Chester A. Reed...illustrating the eggs of nearly every species of North American birds. New York, Doubleday, Page & company, 1904. url p. 341.
• North American fauna. Washington: Fish and Wildlife Service; for sale by the Supt. of Docs., U. S. Govt. Print. Off. url , p. 17, p. 248, p. 29, p. 29.
• P.D. Skaar's Montana bird distribution / revised by Susan Lenard. .. [et al.]. Helena: Montana Natural Heritage Program, 2003. url p. 17.
• Pacific coast avifauna / Cooper Ornithnological Club of California. Santa Clara, Calif.: The Club, 1900-1974. url p. 70.
• Postilla. 1968 New Haven, Conn.: Peabody Museum of Natural History, [1950?]-c2004. url p. 9.
• Report for the year - British Columbia Provincial Museum. [Victoria]; Printed by A. Sutton [etc.], for the Queen. url .
• Sea-birds: an introduction to the natural history of the sea-birds of the North Atlantic / by James Fisher and R. M. Lockley. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1954. url p. 295, p. 315.
• Smithsonian miscellaneous collections. 138 1960 Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1862-1968. url p. 154, p. 3, p. 3.
• Supplement to the code of nomenclature and check-list of North American birds. adopted by the American Ornithologists' Union; prepared by a Committee of the Union. New York: The Union, 1889-1920. url p. 98.
• Syllogeus. Ottawa, National Museum of Natural Sciences, 1972-1995. url p. 5.
• The Auk. Washington, D.C.: American Ornithologists' Union, etc., 1884- url p. 228, p. 312, p. 312, p. 68, p. 98.
• The Canadian field-naturalist. 65 1951 Ottawa, Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club. url porsild , mcewen , , , rand , p. 109, p. 11, p. 116, p. 120, p. 121, p. 13, p. 14, p. 15, p. 180, p. 182, p. 187, p. 216, p. 225, p. 261, p. 268, p. 269, p. 285, p. 36, p. 362, p. 40, p. 407, p. 408, p. 430, p. 430, p. 485, p. 490, p. 493, p. 497, p. 523, p. 552, p. 556, p. 559, p. 573, p. 604, p. 633, p. 666, p. 679, p. 69, p. 691, p. 695, p. 70, p. 726, p. 736, p. 775, p. 776, p. 780, p. 781, p. 783, p. 785, p. 789, p. 9, p. 97, p. 99.
• The Great Basin naturalist. 43 1983 Provo, Utah: M.L. Bean Life Science Museum, Brigham Young University, 1939-1999. url p. 729.
• The Marine Mammal Commission compendium of selected treaties, international agreements, and other relevant documents on marine resources, wildlife, and the environment / compiled by Richard L. Wallace. Washington, D.C.: The Commission; 1994 url p. 3126, p. 3480.
• The Warbler. Floral Park: Mayflower Pub. Co., [1903-1913] url p. 66.
• The effect of altered streamflow on migratory birds of the Yellowstone River Basin, Montana / by Tom Hinz. Helena: Water Resources Division, Montana Dept. of Natural Resources & Conservation, 1977. url p. 101.
• The fur seals and fur-seal islands of the North Pacific ocean. Washington, Govt. Print. Off.1898-99. url , .
• The natural history of the USSR / Algirdas Knystautas; foreword by Vladimir Flint; [translation, John S. Scott]. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1987. url p. 210.
• Through the Mackenzie Basin: a narrative of the Athabasca and Peace River Treaty Expedition of 1899 / by Charles Mair; with a map of the country ceded and numerous photographs of native life and scenery. Also, notes on the mammals and birds of northern Canada, by Roderick MacFarlane. Toronto: W. Briggs, 1908. url p. 295.
• Through the Mackenzie Basin; a narrative of the Athabasca and Peace River treaty expedition of 1899, London: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & co., limited, 1908. url .
• Treaties and other international agreements on fisheries, oceanographic resources, and wildlife to which the United States is party / prepared at the request of Hon. Warren G. Magnuson for the use of the Committee on Commerce, United States Senate, by the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress. Washington, D.C.: U.S. G.P.O., 1974. url p. 820.
• University of California publications in zoology. Berkeley: University Press, 1906- url p. 182.
• University of Kansas publications, Museum of Natural History. 10 1958 Lawrence, University of Kansas. url p. 169, p. 171, p. 616.
• Washington State Coastal Zone Management Program amendment no. 3: approval of the Grays Harbor estuary management plan: program draft environmental impact statement. [Olympia, Wash.?]: Grays Harbor Regional Planning Commission; 1983. url p. 3.

Notes

Contributors

• BirdLife International 2010. Gavia adamsii. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloadedon 01February2012.
• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 10, 2012.
• IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. . Downloaded on January 28, 2012.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 26, 2007:

• Avian Knowledge Network, Great Backyard Bird Count
• Avian Knowledge Network, eBird
• Biologiezentrum der Oberoesterreichischen Landesmuseen, Biologiezentrum Linz
• Bird Studies Canada, BC Coastal Waterbird Survey
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, North West Territories and Nunavut Bird Checklist, Canada
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Provincial Museum of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada. Birds
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility, Royal British Columbia Museum
• Canadian Museum of Nature, Canadian Museum of Nature Bird Collection
• GBIF-Sweden, Bird Ringing Centre in Sweden
• Institute of Nature Conservation PAS, National System of Proetcted Areas
• Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, Terrestrial vertebrate specimens
• National Science Museum of Korea, National Science Museum of Korea Bird
• Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Santa Barbara Musem of Natural History
• UCLA-Dickey Bird Collection
• , Bird specimens

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 8979
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: ITS-174470
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 2481042
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 174470
• IUCN ID: 210810
• Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: ABNBA01040
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 7214

Footnotes

1. Mean = 267.340 meters (877.100 feet), Standard Deviation = 541.520 based on 7,817 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
2. BirdLife International 2010. Gavia adamsii. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 01 February 2012. [back]

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