Iceland Gull

How to identify

Field marks

1. Medium-sized gull with a rather slender build
2. Adult of nominate subspecies has a pale gray back and yellow-green bill
3. Adult of nominate subspecies lacks black pigment in wingtips

Male, female and young

Immature of nominate subspecies is very pale gray; bill has more dark coloration than in immature Glaucous Gull and no pink.

Voice

“Laughing” calls like those of European Herring Gull, but higher in pitch.

Similar species

Glaucous Gull

Glaucous Gull is much larger with a thicker bill; Iceland Gull is smaller with a more slender bill.

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: November–January · Most records: Canada, United States, Iceland

Iceland Gull has been recorded at 699 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 31 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

1. Húsavík – hafnarsvæðiIceland4,625 records
2. Southeast Farallon IslandUnited States3,875 records
3. St. John's – Quidi Vidi LakeCanada3,327 records

Countries and regions with the most records

CanadaUnited StatesIcelandUnited KingdomGreenlandSpainSt. Pierre & MiquelonIreland

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The Iceland gull (Larus glaucoides) is a medium-sized gull that breeds in the Arctic regions of Canada and Greenland, but not in Iceland (as its name suggests), where it is only seen during winter. The genus name is from Latin larus, which appears to have referred to a gull or other large seabird. The specific name glaucoides denotes its resemblance to Larus glaucus, a synonym of Larus hyperboreus, the glaucous gull; -oides is Ancient Greek and means "resembling".

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions