Coastal Carolina

Gavia immer HOW TO IDENTIFY: * Length: 24 inches Wingspan: 58 inches * Sexes similar * Large diving bird with long body that rides low in the water * Large bill is straight, tapers to a point, and is held horizontally * Feet set far back on body, and trail behind body in flight * Upperwings wholly dark in flight Adult alternate: * Black bill * Black head * Black neck with white markings * White chest and belly * Black back with white checkering and spotting Adult basic: * Pale gray bill * Gray-brown cap, forehead, nape, hindneck and back * White face, eye ring, chin, throat, foreneck and belly * Jagged border between white foreneck and dark hindneck Immature: * Like basic-plumaged adult but often with paler bill and white scalloping on back Similar species: Cormorants have hooked bills. Western, Clark's and Red-necked Grebes have thinner bills marked with yellow and show white in the wings in flight. Red-throated Loon has a thinner, upturned bill that it carries above horizontal. In basic and immature plumages its back is spangled with white spots and its head and neck are pale gray, with a straighter line of division with the white foreneck. Pacific Loon has a shorter, thinner bill, a sharp line dividing the pale foreneck and dark hindneck and no white around the eye. The rare Yellow-billed Loon is similar in all plumages, but has a bill that is beveled upwards at the tip and a blockier head, and is entirely yellow beyond the gonys. In basic and immature plumages, the head and hindneck are paler with a darker spot to the auriculars, and back has more pattern.

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Gavia stellata HOW TO IDENTIFY: * Length: 17 inches Wingspan: 44 inches * Sexes similar * Immature like basic-plumaged adult, but with less well-defined face pattern * Dark bill * Large diving bird with long body that rides low in the water * Thin bill is angled upwards at tip and is held above the horizontal * Feet set far back on body, and trail behind body in flight * Upperwings wholly dark in flight Adult alternate: * Gray head, chin, and side of neck * Red throat and striped nape * White chest and belly * Dark back Adult basic: * Gray cap, forehead, nape, and back * White chin, throat, face, and belly * Gray nape not contrasting with white throat * Dark back speckled strongly with white Similar species: Cormorants have hooked bills. Western, Clark's, and Red-necked grebes have thinner variably yellow bills and show white in the wings in flight. Other species of loons can be quite similar in appearance. In alternate plumage the paler gray head differentiates it from the darker-headed Common and Yellow-billed loons while the red throat separates it from the Pacific Loon. In basic plumage it has much less contrast between the dark nape and white throat than the Pacific Loon, lacks the jagged border present on the Common Loon, and lacks the dark auricular of the Yellow-billed Loon. In all plumages the thin, upturned bill separates it from Pacific and Common loons while the bill is darker and smaller than that of the Yellow-billed Loon.

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