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Loons in Alaska
5 species of bird with the haunting call live on Last Frontier
Alaska.com
Where to find: Look -- and listen -- for loons on lakes. The entire state has loons of one species or another -- common, yellow -billed, red-throated, Pacific and arctic.
Common loons like larger lakes, and Pacific loons choose ponds and small lands.
Below are two tables. The first lists the five species' scientific names and their markings. The second shows Alaska loons' summer and winter ranges.
Tips: Although loons are speedy fliers (reaching 60 mph), they may have to run 400 yards on top of the water to get airborne. So when they're frightened, they are most likely to dive.
Loons can stay underwater for more than a minute and have been reported trapped in fishing nets 240 feet below the surface. They like to eat small fish, aquatic plants, insects, mollusks and frogs. Loons float low in the water, partly because of their solid bones, and they keep their bills parallel to the surface.
The common and yellow-billed loons are larger than the three other species. A loon's legs originate far back on its body, so they're not much good for walking. Loons rarely leave the water.
Laughing like a loon
Only the male loon sings, or yodels. According to the Canadian Wildlife Service, the yodel is "a long, rising call with repetitive notes in the middle and can last up to six seconds. It is used by the male to defend territory and can be stimulated by another male entering a loon's territory. Studies of recordings have shown that the yodel is different for each bird and can be used to identify individual loons. The hoot is a one-note call that sounds more like 'hoo.' It is mainly used by family members to locate each other and check on their well-being."
Species and markings
| Species | Markings |
Common
(Gavia immer) | • Black or dark green head and neck
• Dark backs with intricate pattern of black and white strips, spots, squares, rectangles |
Yellow-billed
(Gavia adamsii) | • Straw-yellow bill
• Black or dark green head and neck
• Dark backs with white spots
• Largest loon at 30 to 36 inches long |
Red-throated
(Gavia stellata) | • Gray head
• Triangular throat patch of vivid red, thin bill
• Vertical white strips on the back of its head and neck.
• Back is thickly speckled with white |
Pacific
(Gavia pacifica) | • Gray head
• Purplish-black throat
• Back is black with white spots and bars |
Arctic
(Gavia arctica) | • Green-black throat
• Otherwise similar to Pacific loons |
Range of the loons
| Species | Summer territory | Winter territory |
| Common | Lakes statewide, except in the northernmost and westernmost areas | Aleutians to Baja California |
| Yellow-billed | Northernmost and westernmost areas | Southcentral and Southeast coastal waters, including near Homer and Cordova |
| Pacific | Widely around the state | Southcentral and southeast coasts |
| Red-throated | Coastal ponds and marshes statewide | Aleutians to Baja California |
| Arctic | Arctic Alaska | Arctic Alaska to Baja California |
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