General: Sexes similar. 12 to 14 inches in length.

Adult Alternate: White neck, breast, belly, and tail. Pale gray back and upperwings. Black tips on primaries. White outer primaries with black tips. White underwings. Black hood that covers face, chin, forehead, and crown. Narrow white arcs above and below the eyes. Short, thin, black bill. Orange legs and feet.

Adult Basic: Similar to alternate plumage, except has white head with black ear spots instead of a black hood.

Juvenile/First Year: Head and body plumage similar to adult basic. Juveniles are strongly washed with brown. White tail with black terminal band. Pale gray upperwing marked by dark carpal bar.

Forested lakes and rivers. Winters along coasts and tidal lagoons.

Nesting

2-4 blotchy olive or buff-brown eggs. The eggs have a 24 day incubation period. Fledging occurs in ? days. The nest is a shallow cup made from small twigs and sticks, lined with grass and moss. It is built in a spruce or fir tree near a lake or river. Breeds in the isolated taiga and boreal forests of the Far North. May nest in small colonies.