Larus glaucescens
The Glaucous-winged Gull, Larus glaucescens, is a robust and highly adaptable marine gull, a familiar sight along the Pacific coast of North America. This large gull typically measures 56-66 cm (22-26 inches) in length with a formidable wingspan of 132-152 cm (52-60 inches) and weighs between 800-1700 g (1.8-3.7 lbs). Adults are characterized by their pale gray mantle and upperwings, distinctively lacking any black on the primary wingtips, which are a pale gray, almost white, a key field mark...
Primarily coastal, marine, and urban environments. Found along shorelines, rocky islands, sandy beaches, estuaries, harbors, and urban landfills, often nesting on cliff ledges or offshore islands.
Highly omnivorous and opportunistic, consuming fish, marine invertebrates (clams, mussels, sea urchins), carrion, eggs and chicks of other birds, small mammals, and significant amounts of human refuse. Forages by scavenging, surface-seizing, and occasional shallow diving.
Glaucous-winged Gulls are diurnal and highly gregarious, especially outside the breeding season, forming large roosts on water or sheltered shores. They are opportunistic and highly adaptable foragers, employing diverse strategies including surface-seizing, pursuit diving, kleptoparasitism, and s...
The Glaucous-winged Gull has an extensive breeding range across the northern Pacific rim of North America, extending from the Aleutian Islands and coastal Alaska, through British Columbia, and south along the coast to central Oregon. Major breeding colonies are found on offshore islands, rocky is...
Least Concern
- Glaucous-winged Gulls are one of the most prolific hybridizers among gulls, especially with the Western Gull (Larus occidentalis), creating a complex 'hybrid zone' along the Pacific Northwest coast. - They have been recorded living for over 25 years in the wild, with one individual banded in Wa...