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The Iceland gull (''Larus glaucoides'') is a medium-sized

gull Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the subfamily Larinae. They are most closely related to terns and skimmers, distantly related to auks, and even more distantly related to waders. Until the 21st century, most gulls were placed ...

that breeds in the Arctic regions of Canada and

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

, but not in

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

(as its name suggests), where it is only seen during winter. The genus name is from

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

''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 A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

of ''Larus hyperboreus'', the

glaucous gull The glaucous gull (''Larus hyperboreus'') is a large gull, the second-largest gull in the world. The genus name is from Latin , which appears to have referred to a gull or other large seabird. The specific name is Latin for "northern" from the A ...

; ''-oides'' is

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

and means "resembling".

Description

The Iceland gull is a medium-sized gull, although relatively slender and light in weight. In length, it can measure from , wingspan is from , and weight is from . Among standard measurements, the wing chord is , the

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Pl ...

is , and the tarsus is . It is smaller and thinner-billed than the very large glaucous gull, and is usually smaller than the

herring gull Herring gull is a common name for several birds in the genus ''Larus'', all formerly treated as a single species. Three species are still combined in some taxonomies: * American herring gull (''Larus smithsonianus'') - North America * European h ...

. It takes four years to reach maturity. Larus glaucoides DrydenNY

Call

The call is a "laughing" cry like the

, but higher pitched. Larus glaucoides MWNH 0322

Ecology

It is migratory, wintering from in the North

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

as far south as the

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

and northernmost states of the eastern United States, as well as in the interior of North America as far west as the western

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

. It is much scarcer in Europe than the similar glaucous gull. This species breeds colonially or singly on coasts and cliffs, making a nest lined with grass, moss, or seaweed on the ground or cliff. Normally, two or three light brown eggs are laid. They breed in Canada and Greenland, but not in Iceland. Like most ''Larus'' gulls, these are omnivores, eating fish, molluscs, offal, scraps, and eggs. They forage while flying, picking up food at or just below the water's surface, and they also feed while walking or swimming. Their scavenging habits lead them to frequent garbage dumps, sewage outlets, and places where fish are cleaned.

Taxonomy and systematics

The American

taxon In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and ...

of Iceland gull by the

American Ornithological Society The American Ornithological Society (AOS) is an ornithological organization based in the United States. The society was formed in October 2016 by the merger of the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) and the Cooper Ornithological Society. Its ...

as of 2017 considers the following as subspecies: *

Kumlien's gull Kumlien's gull (''Larus glaucoides kumlieni'') is a subspecies of the Iceland gull. It is a large gull which breeds in the Arctic regions of Canada. It is bird migration, migratory, wintering from Labrador south to New England and west across th ...

, ''L. g. kumlieni'' *

Thayer's gull Thayer's gull (''Larus glaucoides thayeri'') is a subspecies of the Iceland gull. It is a large gull native to North America. Distribution This gull breeds in the Arctic islands of Canada and winters primarily on the Pacific coast, from southern ...

, ''L. g. thayeri'' The nominate subspecies, ''L. g. glaucoides'', is very pale in all plumage, with absolutely no melanin in the tips of the primaries in adult plumage. Adults are pale grey above, with a yellowish-green bill. Immatures are very pale grey; the bill is more extensively dark than with glaucous gull, and lacks pink.

References

External links

* * * * * * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q174232

Iceland gull 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'', wh ...

Birds of the Arctic

Taxa named by Bernhard Meyer