Thayer's Gull (Larus thayeri)

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

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Adult

Color Photograph: H.R. Spendelow, U.S. Geological Survey

Adult

Immature

Color Photographs: © by and courtesy of John Cassady

Thayer's Gull (Larus thayeri)

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

Adult: Head, neck, breast and undersides white. Bill yellow, often with a red spot near the tip. Eye black. Back and most of wing light gray. Apex of wing black with white spots. Rear margin of wing white. Tail all white. Legs pink to flesh colored.

Immature: All of body mottled brown. Eye black. Tail all brown.

Similar Species:  Thayer's Gull is nearly indistinguishable from the Herring Gull. The adult Herring Gull has a yellow eye, not black. The general gray coloration of the back and wings is slightly lighter in Thayer's Gull than in the Herring Gulls. The immatures of the two species are almost identical. Thayer's Gull is absent from most parts of Eastern North America except around the Great Lakes.

Breeding Range (see map below): Thayer's Gull breeds on the far northern islands of the Canadian Arctic.

Overwintering Range:  This species overwinters along the Pacific Coast from southern Alaska to Baja California.

Habitat: Thayer's Gull breeds on far northern islands coasts, particularly on cliffs. Overwintering individuals are found along oceanic coasts.

Food: Marine invertebrates and fish.

Behavior:  The voice is a series of mewing and squealing notes.

Reproduction:  The clutch consists of 3 brown-spotted blue to green eggs. The eggs are laid in a depression lined with grass, moss, or lichens. The nest is usually placed on a high cliff.