- Larus hyperboreus
Description
Location: Granville Island Marina, Vancouver, BC Canada
Identification
Breeds in west and north Iceland, Jan Mayen, Bear Island and Svalbard, on the north Russian coast from the Kanin Peninsula eastwards, and on Novaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land.
In winter found around Iceland and from Lapland south to Denmark and the Netherlands, the north of Scotland and in smaller numbers on the east coast of Britain and northern France. Total British wintering population is usually above 200 birds with up to 600 present in some years. Many are regularly returning individuals with favoured wintering sites.
Vagrant to Spain and the Mediterranean and Black Seas, the Czech Republic, Hungary, the Canary Islands, Azores and Madeira.
Interbreeds extensively with Herring Gull in Iceland (also recorded in Scotland) and occasionally other species elsewhere in range. This species also breeds in Greenland, arctic Canada and Alaska, and winters further south in Canada and the northern U.S.
Habitat Breeds on islands and mainland cliffs, beside freshwater lakes and rivers and on inland crags and cliffs. Out of the breeding season mainly on coasts, often in fishing harbours and bays.
Bird Song
<flashmp3>Larus hyperboreus (song).mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program
