Glaucous-winged Gull

Glaucous-winged Gull, adult, breeding plumage

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Glaucous-winged Gull, adult, non-breeding plumage

Glaucous-winged Gull, 1st winter plumage

Glaucous-winged Gull, juvenile

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1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

A large gull of the north Pacific Coast, the Glaucous-winged Gull is common in coastal cities and towns. Its wingtips are colored unlike any other gull's, being neither black nor white. Instead, they are a medium gray, not much different from the back color.

Description

• Large gull.
• Head and underparts white.
• Back silvery gray.
• Wingtips medium gray with white spots near tip.
• Legs pinkish.

• Size: 50-59 cm (20-23 in)
• Wingspan: 120-143 cm (47-56 in)
• Weight: 900-1200 g (31.77-42.36 ounces)

Sex Differences

Sexes alike in plumage, male larger than female.

Sound

Call a loud whistly "keow."

Conservation Status

Numbers increased markedly in last 50 years.

Other Names

Goéland à ailes grises (French)
Gaviota de alas glaucas (Spanish)

Cool Facts

• The Glaucous-winged Gull takes a variety of food, including live animals in addition to carrion and garbage. It has been known to kill and eat rabbits and pigeons, as well as Glaucous-winged Gull chicks. Older birds are more efficient at finding food than younger birds.
• The Glaucous-winged Gull hybridizes extensively with the Western Gull, with the hybrids being the most common form in Washington. The hybrids can be similar to the parent adult forms, but usually have intermediate back and wingtip coloring. With the medium-gray back, dark upper surface to wingtips, frosty white undersurface to wingtips and a darkish eye, a hybrid may closely resemble a robust Thayer's Gull. The flatter and larger head of the hybrid, and especially the thick bill with a pronounced angle on the bottom, should help distinguish it from the smaller, slimmer Thayer's Gull.

• The Glaucous-winged Gull nests on roofs of buildings in some areas. They prefer to nest on flat roofs, but will nest on peaked roofs in flat areas near chimneys or other structures.

Sources used to construct this page:

1. Sibley, D. A. 2000. National Audubon Society: The Sibley Guide to Birds. A. A. Knopf, Inc., New York.
2. Verbeek, N. A. M. 1993. Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens). In The Birds of North America, No. 59 (A. Poole, and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.