Glaucous Gull

Overview
Glaucous Gull: Large, white gull with pale gray back. Eyes are yellow. Bill is yellow with red spot on lower mandible. Wings are white-edged and white tipped. Legs and feet are pink. An active predator of seabird nesting colonies. Slow, steady wing beats. Soars on thermals and updrafts.

Range and Habitat
Glaucous Gull: Breeds in Alaska and northern Canada. Spends winters along the coast south to California (rarely) and Virginia; rarely found in the Great Lakes and the Gulf coast. Preferred habitats include shores of lakes, rivers, and coast, as well as refuse dumps and sewage outflows.

INTERESTING FACTS
First- and second-year Glaucous Gulls appear to move farther southward than adults, and most individuals seen in the southern portion of the winter range are immatures. It is an active predator at seabird nesting colonies. It will walk into colonies and take eggs and chicks left unprotected, and will fly above a foraging arctic fox or person disturbing the colony and take eggs and chicks that are exposed during the disturbance. A group of gulls has many collective nouns, including a "flotilla", "gullery", "screech", "scavenging", and "squabble" of gulls.