General Description: Yellow-billed Loons (Gavia adamsii) are sexually monomorphic water birds with differing winter and summer plumage. Loons might be mistaken for ducks, and they are always found in water. Loons ride low in the water, holding their large head and yellow bill upright. In breeding plumage, the head and neck band are black or iridescent green, the back is checkered black and white, and the bill is bright yellow. In winter plumage, the colors become dull, the neck band is lost giving them a white-neck appearance, the bill is pale yellow, and there is a brown spot behind the eye. The bottom of the bill angles up, giving the bill an upturned appearance. The crown is slightly peaked on the forehead and back of the head, giving the bird a lumpy-looking head.

Yellow-billed Loons breed in the high arctic of Canada and winter on the Pacific Coast. Most stay in Canadian waters during winter, but a few come farther south, and once in a while, one makes it to Nevada.

Taxonomy: Gaviiformes, Gaviidae

Favored Habitat: Large bodies of water.

Where to Find: This bird showed up at Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge during the winter of 2008-2009. Don't expect to see it again.