Glaucous Gull

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Glaucous Gull
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Laridae
Genus: Larus
Species: L. hyperboreus
Binomial name
Larus hyperboreus
Gunnerus, 1767
Glaucous Gull
The Glaucous Gull (Larus hyperboreus) is a large gull which breeds in the Arctic regions of the northern hemisphere and the Atlantic coasts of Europe. It is migratory, wintering from in the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans as far south as the British Isles and northernmost states of the USA, also on the Great Lakes. A few birds sometimes reach the southern USA and northern Mexico.

This species breeds colonially or singly on coasts and cliffs, making a lined nest on the ground or cliff. Normally, 2–4 light brown eggs with dark chocolate splotches are laid.

In flight with Great Black-backed Gulls, Ottawa, Ontario

This is a large and powerful gull, very pale in all plumages, with no black on either of the wings or the tail. The term glaucous describes its colouration. Adults are pale grey above, with a thick yellow bill. Immatures are very pale grey with a pink and black bill. This species is considerably larger, bulkier and thicker-billed than the similar Iceland Gull, and can sometimes equal the size of the Great Black-backed Gull, the largest gull species. They can weigh anywhere from 960 to 2,700 g (2.12 to 5.95 lb), averaging 1.55 kg (3.4 lb) in males and 1.35 kg (3.0 lb) in females.[2][3] These gulls range from 55 to 77 cm (22 to 30 in) in length and can span 132 to 170 cm (52 to 67 in) across the wings.[3][4][5] Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 40.8 to 50.1 cm (16.1 to 19.7 in), the bill is 4.9 to 6.9 cm (1.9 to 2.7 in) and the tarsus is 6 to 7.7 cm (2.4 to 3.0 in).[3] They take four years to reach maturity. The call is a "laughing" cry similar to that of the Herring Gull but deeper.

These are omnivores like most Larus gulls, and they will eat fish, insects, molluscs, starfish, offal, scraps, eggs, small birds, small mammals and carrion as well as seeds, berries and grains.

References

  1. ↑ BirdLife International (2012). "Larus hyperboreus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013. 
  2. ↑ CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (1992), ISBN 978-0-8493-4258-5.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Gulls: Of North America, Europe, and Asia by Klaus Malling Olsen & Hans Larsson. Princeton University Press (2004). ISBN 978-0691119977.
  4. ↑ . (2011).
  5. ↑ Harrison, Peter, Seabirds: An Identification Guide. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (1991), ISBN 978-0-395-60291-1
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Larus hyperboreus.
  • Harrison, Peter (1996). Seabirds of the World. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-01551-1. 
  • Bull, John; Farrand, Jr., John (April 1984). The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds, Eastern Region. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0-394-41405-5. 

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