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Iceland Gull
last update: Apr 21, 2009 10:24 AM
Latin name: Larus glaucoides
Population: 190,000-400,000 individuals
Cites classified: Least Concern
Where found: Western and southern Greenland, eastern and southern Baffin Island and southeastern Ellesmere Island in Canada
Age/ life expectancy: unknown
Wingspan: 140-150 cm
Length: 52-60 cm
Weight: 500-1000 g
Mating/Breeding: Iceland Gulls assemble at their breeding grounds in late May and early June, in colonies numbering anywhere from 50 to 2,000 pairs. They seem to form monogamous pairs for the season. The nests are built on rocky ledges ranging from near sea level to as high as 400 feet above, using a variety of materials, including grass, moss, old feathers, and turf. For about 25 days, both sexes incubate two to three yellowish to greenish eggs, marked with brown blotches. The downy chicks peck at the adults' bills to receive regurgitated clumps of partially digested food. Juvenile Iceland Gulls fledge in about six weeks and often wander alone, away from the wintering areas used by adults.
Eggs: 1-3 pale grey eggs blotched dark brown
Hibernation: migrates south in winter across the North Atlantic from Newfoundland to Iceland and east to Scandinavia.
Hunting Habits: takes food from the surface of the water but also plunge-dives and scavenges
Feed on: fish, crustaceans, molluscs, and carrion
Predators: glaucous gulls prey opportunistically on chicks and eggs
Colour/Body: Generally, the immature gulls are pale, with very light brown to beige barring on the upper parts, and white elsewhere. The immature Iceland Gull has dark eyes and a bill that is either black or pink with a black tip. In winter, the adult Kumlien's Iceland Gull has light gray upper parts, usually with a little dark color in the wing tips. The rest of the bird is white, except for light grayish streaking over the back of the head. In breeding plumage, the adult Iceland Gull is light gray above and white below, with a white head. The bird's yellow bill has a red spot on the bottom, and the feet and legs are pink. Sexes appear alike.
Interesting Trivia:
- The Iceland Gull and the Thayer's Gull show many similarities and may be the same species. A range of darkness in the wingtips can be seen from fully dark ones in the western Arctic to fully white in eastern Canada, with lots of variation in-between.
