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Birds by name

Glaucous gull

Conservation status: Amber

A large pale gull with white wing tips. Younger birds are creamy white or more biscuit coloured, depending on age. All have pale wingtips. It is bigger than a herring gull and bulkier, with a fiercer expression, larger beak and squarer head than the smaller but virually identically-plumaged plumaged Iceland gull.

Overview

Latin name

Larus hyperboreus

Family

Gulls (Laridae)

Where to see them

At the coast, most often on beaches and in harbours and bays. Found inland where large gulls gather in numbers: at rubbish tips and in roosts at reservoirs.

When to see them

A winter visitor, mostly seen between November and March.

What they eat

Scavenges for carrion, shellfish and scraps.

Population

EuropeUK breeding*UK wintering*UK passage*
--150 birds-

* UK breeding is the number of pairs breeding annually. UK wintering is the number of individuals present from October to March. UK passage is the number of individuals passing through on migration in spring and/or autumn.

Distribution

Key

In the UK
Scarce around all UK coast, with the largest numbers in Scotland. Small numbers also occur inland throughout the UK.

Please note that the map is only intended as a guide. It shows general distribution rather than detailed, localised populations.

Illustrations

Characteristics

Glaucous gull (first-winter)

Glaucous gull - first winter
  • Size: bigger than mallard
  • Feather colours: brown, white, grey, cream/buff
  • Beak colours: black/dark grey, red/pink
  • Beak length: medium
  • Beak thickness: medium
  • Beak shape: medium
  • Leg colour: pink/flesh
  • Behaviour: part of flock, on ground, bird walks/runs on the ground, eats birds/chicks/eggs

Glaucous gull (adult winter)

Glaucous gull - adult in non-breeding plumage
  • Size: bigger than mallard
  • Feather colours: brown, white, grey, cream/buff
  • Beak colours: yellow, red/pink
  • Beak length: medium
  • Beak thickness: medium
  • Beak shape: medium
  • Leg colour: pink/flesh
  • Behaviour: part of flock, on ground, bird walks/runs on the ground, eats birds/chicks/eggs

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