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The glaucous gull is massive beast, exceeded in size only by the great black-backed gull, and capable of swallowing a European starling in one gulp. The colder and more brutal the winter, the more glaucous gulls we get, but one-day totals exceeding 10 birds are exceptional. |
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Glaucous Gull
Larus hyperboreus
At-a-Glance
• Incubation: 27-28 days
• Clutch Size: 2-3 eggs
• Young Fledge: 45-50 days after hatching
• Typical Foods: fish, other bird species, and carrion
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Description
This Arctic visitor stands out well among the packs of winter gulls, as they are very pale in all plumages, and larger than most of their associates.
Habitat and Habits
Glaucous gulls are most easily found when Lake Erie freezes, and concentrates gulls around open water at warm outlets of power plants. As befits their size, glaucous gulls have a loud, deeper-pitched call that is otherwise similar to the herring gull.
Reproduction and Care of the Young
This species breeds in Alaska and northern Canada, where it builds nests lined with moss and grass on cliffs. |
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