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Bird name:

Glaucous-winged Gull

Larus glaucescens

Order

CHARADRIIFORMES

Family

Skuas, Gulls, Terns, Skimmers (Laridae)

Code 4

GWGU

Code 6

LARGLS

ITIS

176814

Breeding Location:

Seashore, rocky or sandy

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Colonial

Breeding Population:

Increasing

Egg Color:

Olive to yellow green marked with brown and gray

Number of Eggs:

1 - 4

Incubation Days:

26 - 29

Egg Incubator:

Both sexes

Nest Material:

Lined with moss, seaweed, grass, and occasional debris.

Migration:

Some migrate

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General

Glaucous-winged Gull: Large gull with gray upperparts and white underparts, head, and neck. Eyes are dark. Bill is yellow with red spot on lower mandible. Wings are gray with white edges and spots (windows) near the tips. Legs and feet are pink. Sexes are similar. Winter adult has gray-brown head and nape, and red spot on bill may become suffused with black.

Range and Habitat

Glaucous-winged Gull: Resident from the Aleutians and coastal Alaska south to northwestern Washington. Spends winters south along the Pacific coast to southern California. Preferred habitats include salt or brackish water along coasts, bays, estuaries, islands, beaches, mud flats, and nearby offshore waters; often found at wharves, dumps, fish canneries, and around fishing boats.

Breeding and Nesting

Glaucous-winged Gull: One to four olive to yellow green eggs marked with brown and gray are laid in a grass or seaweed nest built in a depression on a remote islet or headland. Incubation ranges from 26 to 29 days and is carried out by both parents.

Foraging and Feeding

Glaucous-winged Gull: Feeds on carrion, fish, invertebrates, and seaweed. Drops barnacles, sea urchins, and mollusks onto rocks to crack them open; also steals food from other seabirds.

Vocalization

Glaucous-Winged Gull: Emits a raucous series of similar notes on one pitch; also a soft "ga-ga" when an intruder approaches.

Similar Species

Glaucous-winged Gull: Glaucous Gull is larger and has paler back and eyes. Western Gull has darker back and white-tipped black primaries.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Lower mandible

The lower part of the bill.

Nape

Also called the hindneck or collar, it is the back of the neck where the head joins the body.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America