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Latin name

Larus hyperboreus

Family

Gulls (Laridae)

Overview

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.

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.

Estimated numbers

* 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

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.

Audio is from commercial recordings Bird Songs and Calls of Britain and Europe on 4 CDs or Bird Sounds of Europe & North-west Africa, copyright WildSounds & CEBA (www.wildsounds.com, (UK) +44 (0) 1263 741100)

2 illustrations 12

First winter

Adult winter

Similar birds

Herring gull

Iceland gull