Medium-sized, pale-gray gull. The color of the wingtips is highly variable, ranging from white (this individual) to dark gray. Breeding birds a red ring around the eye. Note somewhat slender bill.
Highly variable gull, but in general it has a pale gray back and a slimmer bill than similar gulls. Nonbreeding Thayer's subspecies have darker gray wingtips and variable amounts of tan streaking on the head and neck.
Highly variable gull. Pale first winter birds have tan streaking or spotting throughout. Note whitish wingtips that extend beyond tail when resting.
Color of first-winter birds varies from milk chocolate to pale brown with spotting on the back and wings. Note dark wing tips that extend beyond the tail when resting.
Most often seen in the lower 48 during the winter where they can be found along seacoasts foraging close to shore, on beaches, and sometimes on lawns, and agricultural fields.
Nonbreeding adults are pale gray above with a small amount of brownish streaking on the head and neck. Note the pale wingtips on this Iceland subspecies.
On nonbreeding adults in flight, note that the primaries have a limited amount of white on them especially at the tips.
Some first winter birds are pale with tan streaking. Note that the outer primaries are tan and white as opposed to a solid color.
First winter birds are highly variable ranging from dark brown to pale brown. Smaller size and slender bill are useful features to separate from similar gulls.
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Iceland Gulls are medium-sized gulls with relatively slender, short bills. They have fairly long wings that extend well past the tail.
Larger than a Ring-billed Gull; smaller than a Herring Gull.
between crow and gooseIceland Gull consists of three subspecies that vary most noticeably by the color of the wingtips. The “Iceland” form breeds in Greenland and winters mainly in the North Atlantic (including Iceland). It has very pale to completely white wingtips. The “Kumlien’s” subspecies is the form most commonly seen in winter on the East Coast of North America. Its wingtips vary from nearly white to gray. The “Thayer’s” form (considered a separate species until 2017) winters on the West Coast of North America. It usually has slightly darker wings, dark gray to black wingtips, and heavy streaking or smudging on the head and neck in winter. There’s lots of overlap between each of these forms, and some individuals can’t be easily placed into a subspecies based on plumage.
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