Iceland Gull
Iceland Gull: Large, white gull, pale, pearl-gray back and upper wings. Bill is yellow, red spot at tip of lower mandible. Wing tips sometimes marked with pale to dark gray. White tail; legs and feet are pink. Direct flight with strong deep wing beats. Soars on thermals and updrafts.
● Song:
"kyow-yow-yow"
● Foraging & Feeding:
Iceland Gull: Eats small fish, crustaceans, berries, mollusks, carrion, refuse, seeds, and eggs and young of other birds. Catches fish by plunging into water while flying. Also finds food while wading or walking on shore.
● Breeding & nesting:
Iceland Gull: Two or three buff to olive eggs with dark brown blotches are laid in a nest lined with grass, moss, and seaweed, and built on a cliff or sandy shore. Incubation ranges from 23 to 27 days and is carried out by both parents.
● Similar species:
Iceland Gull: Glaucous Gull is larger, has larger bill, flatter head, and, at rest, shorter wingtips that barely project beyond the end of the tail. Thayer's Gull has darker wingtips and eyes as an adult and darker tail bands and flight feathers as a juvenile.
● Range & Habitat:
Iceland Gull: Breeds in southern Greenland, southern Baffin Island, northwestern Quebec, and on islands in northern Hudson Bay. Spends winters in Europe, Iceland, and eastern North America south to New Jersey. Nests on rocky coasts, on tall cliffs; prefers coastal habitats in harbors, large reservoirs, and nearby landfills.