Iceland Gull (Larus glaucoides)

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A Field Guide to Eastern Birds. by Roger Tory Peterson.

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Adult (Top bird; lower bird is a Herring Gull)

Immature

Color Photographs: © by and courtesy of John Cassady

Iceland Gull (Larus glaucoides)

Identification: Length from tip of bill to tip of tail 24 inches.

Adult: Head white (young birds may have some gray around the eye and forehead). Bill relatively small, and narrow, yellow, typically with a reddish spot near the apex. Neck, breast and undersides white. Back and wings gray, usually lustrous in tone, and variable in intensity. Apical half of wing white. Wings elongate, projecting past the apex of the tail. Tail all white. Feet flesh colored.

Immature: Light brown, lightly flecked with white and dark brown.

Similar Species:  The Iceland Gull is most likely to be mistaken for a Glaucous Gull. The Glaucous Gull is larger (28 inches in length). The bill is larger and relatively thicker and its head appears rounder. The wings of both the Herring Gull and Thayer's Gull are tipped with black and have contrasting white patches.

Breeding Range (see map below): The Iceland Gull breeds on the eastern end of Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic as well as the shorelines of Greenland. This species breeds widely in northern Europe and Asia.

Overwintering Range:  This species overwinters along the shorelines of the northern Atlantic from Labrador in the north to New Jersey in the south.

Habitat: The Iceland Gull breeds on ocean beaches. Overwintering individuals are found on the shores of lakes and rivers as well as garbage dumps.

Food: Primarily a scavenger eating carrion and garbage.

Behavior: The Iceland Gull is a smaller, more graceful version of the Glaucous Gull. The species is commonly found around garbage dumps, sewage lagoons, and fish canneries.

Reproduction:  The clutch consists of 2 to 3 dark blotched light brown eggs. The eggs are laid in a nest lined with grass or seedweed, and the nest is placed on a cliff or sandy beach.