Family Gulls, Terns, Skimmers (Laridae)
Near Threatened
Ivory Gull (Pagophila eburnea)
Taxonomy
French: Mouette blanche German: Elfenbeinmöwe Spanish: Gaviota marfileña
Taxonomy:
Larus Eburneus
Phipps
, 1774,Spitsbergen
.Distribution:
Almost circumpolar in Arctic seas and pack ice, breeding from N Canada (Queen Elizabeth Is, N Baffin I) through Greenland, Svalbard, Franz Josef Land, Novaya Zemlya and Severnaya Zemlya to New Siberian Is and Herald I. Main wintering grounds around Baffin I, Davis Strait, Labrador Sea, SE Greenland and Bering Strait region.
Descriptive notes
44–48 cm; 520–700 g; wingspan 106–118 cm. Two-year gull. A very distinctive gull. Adult is pure white, with black legs and yellow-tipped blue-grey bill.... read more
Voice
Has a grating call “kriiaah” recalling Common Tern (Sterna hirundo). Also a melancholy,... read more
Habitat
Breeds mainly on inaccessible cliffs (W Spitsbergen), on broken icefields and inland cliffs (... read more
Food and feeding
Mainly fish, shrimps, shellfish, algae, carrion, offal and animal faeces. In winter swallows large pieces of frozen food. Since part of its... read more
Breeding
Arrives late Mar at Spitsbergen, Apr at Franz Josef Land, and late May in Canadian Arctic and N Greenland; breeds in brief period from late... read more
Movements
Spends most of year along ice edge, most birds dispersing only as far as edge of pack ice; in... read more
Status and conservation
Not globally threatened. Currently considered Near Threatened. Global population estimated at 19,000–27,000 individuals, roughly equivalent to 12,000–18,000... read more
Occasionally placed in genus Larus, but has very different display repertoire; morphometric analysis shows no constant link with any other species. Monotypic.