Field Guide to Birds of North America
Iceland Gull
General
Iceland Gull: Large, white gull with pale, pearl-gray back and upper wings. Bill is yellow with red spot at tip of lower mandible. Wing tips are sometimes marked with pale to dark gray. Tail is white; legs and feet are pink. Sexes are similar. Winter adult is white with pale gray or brown markings on head, neck, breast, and tail. Juvenile is barred pale gray and brown overall with a grayer head and black bill; some juveniles are nearly white, showing only faint gray-brown barring on back and upperwings. 1st summer is mostly white with variable pale brown wash, usually on upperparts; bill is pale with a dark tip. 2nd winter resembles 1st summer but begins to show pale gray on back and wings. 3rd winter resembles winter adult but has a yellow-green bill with black spot near tip.
Range and Habitat
Iceland Gull: Breeds in southern Greenland, southern Baffin Island, northwestern Quebec, and on islands in northern Hudson Bay. Spends winters in Europe, Iceland, and eastern North America south to New Jersey. Nests on rocky coasts, on tall cliffs; prefers coastal habitats in harbors, large reservoirs, and nearby landfills.
Listen to Call
Voice Text
"kyow-yow-yow"
Interesting Facts
- The Iceland Gull is divided into two subspecies. The western form known as "Kumlien's Gull," breeds in Canada and shows variable amounts of dark in the wingtips. The form that breeds in Greenland has no dark in its wingtips, or only very little.
- Some authorities believe Thayer's Gull is another subspecies of the Iceland Gull.
- Their scavenging habits lead them to frequent garbage dumps, sewage outlets and places where fish are cleaned.
- A group of gulls has many collective nouns, including a "flotilla", "gullery", "screech", "scavenging", and "squabble" of gulls.
Author
|
Family
|
Species
Larus glaucoides
|
Length23 - 25
Inches
|
Wingspan54
Inches
|
Iceland Gull
Iceland Gull: Large, white gull, pale, pearl-gray back and upper wings. Bill is yellow, red spot at tip of lower mandible. Wing tips sometimes marked with pale to dark gray. White tail; legs and feet are pink. Direct flight with strong deep wing beats. Soars on thermals and updrafts.
● Song: "kyow-yow-yow"
● Foraging & Feeding: Iceland Gull: Eats small fish, crustaceans, berries, mollusks, carrion, refuse, seeds, and eggs and young of other birds. Catches fish by plunging into water while flying. Also finds food while wading or walking on shore.
● Breeding & nesting: Iceland Gull: Two or three buff to olive eggs with dark brown blotches are laid in a nest lined with grass, moss, and seaweed, and built on a cliff or sandy shore. Incubation ranges from 23 to 27 days and is carried out by both parents.
● Similar species: Iceland Gull: Glaucous Gull is larger, has larger bill, flatter head, and, at rest, shorter wingtips that barely project beyond the end of the tail. Thayer's Gull has darker wingtips and eyes as an adult and darker tail bands and flight feathers as a juvenile.
Flight Pattern
Direct flight with strong steady wing beats.
|
BreedingMonogamous, Colonial
|
PopulationUncommon to rare
|
MigrationMigratory
|
Weight30.4
Ounces
|