Measurements
Both Sexes
- Length
- 26.8 in
68 cm - Wingspan
- 58.7–71.7 in
149–182 cm - Weight
- 44.1–95.2 oz
1250–2700 g
Other Names
- Goéland bourgmestre (French)
Cool Facts
- First- and second-year Glaucous Gulls appear to move farther southward than adults, and most individuals seen in the southern portion of the winter range are immatures.
- The Glaucous Gull is an active predator at seabird nesting colonies. It will walk into colonies and take eggs and chicks left unprotected, and will fly above a foraging arctic fox or person disturbing the colony and take eggs and chicks that are exposed during the disturbance.
Habitat
Shore-line
Breeds along marine and freshwater coasts, tundra, offshore islands, cliffs, shorelines, ice edges. Rarely far inland. Winters along maritime coasts, freshwater lakes, agricultural fields, urban areas, and garbage dumps.
Food
Omnivore
Marine invertebrates, fish, eggs and chicks of waterfowl and seabird species, small birds, small mammals, and vegetation. Scavenges fish, carrion, and human refuse.
Nesting
Nesting Facts
- Clutch Size
- 1–3 eggs
- Egg Description
- Light gray-brown or olive with gray and dark brown spots.
- Condition at Hatching
- Alert and mobile, covered with dense, hairlike, gray-brown down.
Nest Description
Shallow depression in mound of grass, sedges, moss, twigs, and occasionally feathers. Little or no lining. Placed on islands, edges of ponds on open tundra, cliff ledges, grassy slopes above cliffs, rock scree at foot of cliffs.
Nest Placement
Cliff
Behavior
Soaring
Captures food near surface of water or on shore. Steals food from other gulls. Swallows large prey whole.
Conservation
Least Concern
Few changes in population size or distribution reported in North America or globally.
Credits
- Gilchrist, H. G. 2001. Glaucous Gull (Larus hyperboreus). In The Birds of North America, No. 573 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.