Bird Guide

Glaucous Gull vs Heermann's Gull

Glaucous Gull (Larus hyperboreus)

Glaucous Gull

Larus hyperboreus

Huge1.5 kgCoastal

This is a large and powerful gull, second-largest of all gull species and very pale in all plumage, with no black on either the wings or the tail. Adults are pale grey above, with a thick, yellow bill. Juveniles are very pale grey with a pink and black bill. This species is considerably larger, bulkier, and thicker-billed than the similar Iceland gull, and can sometimes equal the size of the great black-backed gull, the oft-titled largest gull species. In some areas, glaucous gulls are about the same weight as great black-backed gulls or even heavier, and their maximum weight is greater.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Sowls, Art · Public domain
Heermann's Gull (Larus heermanni)

Heermann's Gull

Larus heermanni

Large500 gCoastal

This species looks distinctly different from other gulls. Adults have a medium gray body, blackish-gray wings and tail with white edges, and a red bill with a black tip. The head is dusky gray in non-breeding plumage and white in breeding plumage. Immatures resemble non-breeding adults but are darker and browner, and the bill is pink till the second winter. A few birds, no more than 1 in 200, have white primary coverts, which form a showy spot on the upper wing.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Toffel · Public domain

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Glaucous Gull and Heermann's Gull.