Ivory Gull Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesIvory Gull
Adult
Plump gull with a thin bill. Adults are entirely white with a yellow-tipped bill and a dark eye.
© Brian Sullivan / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, November 06, 2010Immature
Full-bellied gull with a small head and thin bill. Immatures have a dark mask around the face and black speckling on the wings and tail.
© Nathan Goldberg / Macaulay LibraryMinnesota, January 06, 2016Adult
Ivory Gulls are highly opportunistic foragers, foraging on small fish, invertebrates, and small mammals, as well as carcasses and human trash.
© Brian Sullivan / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, November 06, 2010Not all videos have sound
Immature
The amount of black markings on immature birds varies; some have a slight smudge on the face and light speckling on the wings and tail, while others have a dark mask and heavy speckling.
© David Disher / Macaulay LibraryNew Jersey, December 07, 2009Adult
The only all white gull. Note thin yellow-tipped bill and black eyes and legs.
© Christoph Moning / Macaulay LibrarySvalbard, June 14, 2015Immature
Immature has sooty speckling on the face, a dusky gray bill, and dark gray spots on the tips of wing and tail feathers.
© Cam Nikkel / Macaulay LibrarySaskatchewan, December 19, 2022Not all videos have sound
Immature
The amount of black speckling on the wings and tail of immatures is variable, but they usually have black-tipped flight feathers and wing coverts.
© Steve Kolbe / Macaulay LibraryMinnesota, January 05, 2016Adult
Breeds on rocky islands and cliffs near pack ice in the high Arctic. In the winter found near pack and drift ice.
© William Stein III MD PhD / Macaulay LibrarySvalbard, September 05, 2016Similar SpeciesRoss's Gull
Breeding adult
Ross's Gulls are smaller and more slender than Ivory Gulls. Breeding adults are pinkish below with an all-dark bill, thin black collar, and gray upperparts, while Ivory Gull is all white with a yellow-tipped bill.
© PC Smith / Macaulay LibraryNunavut, August 16, 2011Similar SpeciesRoss's Gull
Breeding adult
In flight, Ross's Gulls are more slender than Ivory Gulls with darker wings and a wedge-shaped tail with long central tail feathers.
© Tom Johnson / Macaulay LibraryManitoba, June 10, 2008Similar SpeciesRoss's Gull
Nonbreeding adult
Ross's Gulls are smaller and more slender than Ivory Gulls, with light gray wings. Immature Ivory Gulls have black spots on the wings, but no Ivory Gull plumages have gray wings.
© Brian Sullivan / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, January 12, 2017Similar SpeciesRoss's Gull
First winter
Immature Ross's Gulls have a striking black-and-gray wing pattern in flight and a dark-tipped, wedge-shaped tail, unlike the slender dark bars on the wings of immature Ivory Gulls.
© Ian Davies / Macaulay LibraryNew York, January 29, 2017Rotate Your Device to Better Compare
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Species in This Family
Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers(Order: Charadriiformes, Family: Laridae)
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