Red-throated
Loon, Gavia
stellata
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![]() The red throat and fine black-and-white striped pattern on the neck, plus the uptilted bill, are the best known marks of the Red-throated Loon in breeding plumage, above and below, in ponds on the outskirts of Nome, Alaska, where they nest. |
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![]() A breeding-plumage loon getting airborne after a substantial run. |
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![]() A pair resident on one of the ponds in the outskirts of Nome. |
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![]() A Red-throated Loon in non-breeding plumage, wintering off the California coast -- no red throat, but still the up-tilted bill. |
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![]() Here the bill is pointed down, but the slight upward curvature can still be seen. That helps distinguish the non-breeding Red-throat from the similar Pacific Loon, as does the less definite line between dark and light along the neck, and the less dark feathering on the back. |
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![]() The bird above and below, in Moss Landing Harbor on Monterey Bay, is one of the few loons I've seen on land, and the only one I've photographed there. |
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