Also called the Red-throated Diver, this is an adult in breeding plumage with the dark red throat barely visible. Males and females are alike. This is the smallest species in the family Gaviidae. It has a circumpolar distribution breeding generally north of 50° N latitude. It differs from other loons not only in appearance, but also in its molts, behavior, and vocalizations. Other loons delay flight feather molt until winter, but Red-throated Loons molt flight feathers right after fall migration. The population breeding on Svalbard has been named a separate race, G. s. squamata. However this subspecies is no longer considered valid (Sangster et al. 2005). Canon SX50 HS PowerShot,
References:
Barr, J. F., C. Eberl, and J. W. McIntyre (2000). Red-throated Loon (Gavia stellata), version 2.0. In The Birds of North America (A. F. Poole and F. B. Gill, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bna.513
Carboneras, C., Christie, D.A. & Garcia, E.F.J. (2018). Red-throated Loon (Gavia stellata). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/52473 on 4 September 2018).
Sangster, G., Collinson, J.M., Helbig, A.J., Knox, A.G. & Parkin, D.T. (2005) Taxonomic recommendations for British birds: third report. Ibis 147(4): 821–826.