Glaucous gull
Larus hyperboreus Gunnerus, 1767
The glaucous gull (Larus hyperboreus), also called the Burgomaster gull, is a bird in the family Laridae and the order Charadriiformes. It is a medium-sized bird with an adult body mass of 1.529 kg, ranging from 1.249 to 1.703 kg across sources, and a wingspan of 1.58 m.
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Quick facts about the glaucous gull
This migratory, omnivore gull lives in coastal habitats and has a geographic range of 2,431,000 km². It lays 2.8 eggs per clutch, one clutch per year, incubates them for 27.25 days and reaches sexual maturity at 4 years; it is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN.
- Weight
- 1.25 kg – 1.7 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 1.58 msrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 21 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Omnivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- coastalsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 27.3 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2.8src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 4 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Generalistsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the glaucous gull?
Photos of the glaucous gull
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the glaucous gull live?
Not recorded
What is the glaucous gull?
The glaucous gull (Larus hyperboreus) is a large gull, the second-largest gull in the world. The genus name is from Latin larus, which appears to have referred to a gull or other large seabird. The specific name hyperboreus is Latin for "northern" from the Ancient Greek Huperboreoi people from the far north "Glaucous" is from Latin glaucus and denotes the grey colour of the gull. An older English name for this species is burgomaster.
From the Wikipedia article “Glaucous gull” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Glaucous_gull&oldid=1314389847), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the glaucous gull endangered?
The glaucous gull is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the glaucous gull classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderCharadriiformes
- familyLaridae
- genusLarus
- SpeciesLarus hyperboreus Gunnerus, 1767
Synonyms Larus glaucus, Larus glaucus, Larus hutchinsii, Larus medius, Larus minor
Other names and names in other languages (76)
- Burgomaster gullEnglish
- النورسArabic
- نورس ازرقArabic
- نورس غلوكيArabic
- Gavilueta CandeAsturian
- Чайка-бургамістрBelarusian
- Полярна чайкаBulgarian
- Голяма белокрила чайкаBulgarian
- Gouelan-sterennBreton
- gavinot hiperboriCatalan
- racek šedýCzech
- Gwylan laswyrddWelsh
- gwylan y GogleddWelsh
- Gwylanod y GogleddWelsh
- gråmågeDanish
- EismöweGerman
- glacimevoEsperanto
- Gaviota blancaSpanish
- Gavión hiperbóreoSpanish
- Gaviota hiperbóreaSpanish
- KukisvakCentral Yupik
- NarusvakCentral Yupik
- jääkajakasEstonian
- Ipar kaioaBasque
- کاکایی راه راهPersian
- isolokkiFinnish
- ValmásiFaroese
- Goéland bourgmestreFrench
- IsmeewNorthern Frisian
- Grutte IismiuwWestern Frisian
- Faoileag mhòrScottish Gaelic
- faoileán glasScottish Gaelic
- Gaivota hiperbóreaGalician
- Foillan glassManx
- שחף לבן כנףHebrew
- שחף לבן-כנףHebrew
- sjeverni galebCroatian
- jeges sirályHungarian
- HvítmáfurIcelandic
- HvitmáfurIcelandic
- Gabbiano glaucoItalian
- シロカモメJapanese
- NaajaKalaallisut
- NaajarujussuaqKalaallisut
- ДуанбасKazakh
- 흰갈매기Korean
- didysis poliarinis kirasLithuanian
- lielā polārkaijaLatvian
- Gawwija BajdaMaltese
- Мөсны цахлай - ᠮᠦᠰᠦᠨ ᠦ ᠴᠠᠬᠣᠯᠠᠢMongolian
- polarmåkeNorwegian Bokmål
- grote burgemeesterDutch
- polarmåseNorwegian Nynorsk
- mewa bladaPolish
- gaivotão-brancoPortuguese
- gaivota-hiperbóreaPortuguese
- Muetta verdaRomansh
- Pescăruş de gheţuriRomanian
- Pescăruş de ghețuriRomanian
- БургомистрRussian
- большая полярная чайкаRussian
- StuorraskávliNorthern Sami
- stuoragáiruNorthern Sami
- čajka bledáSlovak
- ledni galebSlovenian
- Severni galebSerbian
- Северни галебSerbian
- vittrutSwedish
- kutup martisiTurkish
- Соңгуу-чүктүң ак-кускунуTuvinian
- Мартин полярнийUkrainian
- Полярний мартинUkrainian
- Mòng biển xanh xámVietnamese
- גרױסע אײַז־מײװYiddish
- 北极鸥Chinese
- 北極鷗Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the glaucous gull
Other species in the same genus Larus.
European herring gull
Larus argentatus
Common gull
Larus canus
Lesser black-backed gull
Larus fuscus
Great black-backed gull
Larus marinus
Caspian gull
Larus cachinnans
Yellow-legged gull
Larus michahellis
CompareGlaucous gull vs European herring gullGlaucous gull vs Common gullGlaucous gull vs Lesser black-backed gullGlaucous gull vs Great black-backed gull
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the glaucous gull?
The glaucous gull is a bird in the family Laridae, order Charadriiformes. It is also called the Burgomaster gull.
How heavy is a glaucous gull?
An adult Glaucous gull weighs 1.529 kg, with sources reporting from 1.249 to 1.703 kg. Its wingspan is 1.58 m.
What does the glaucous gull eat?
The glaucous gull is an omnivore, and its trophic level is classed as carnivore.
What habitat does the glaucous gull live in?
The glaucous gull lives in coastal habitats. It is migratory.
Is the glaucous gull endangered?
No. The glaucous gull is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does a glaucous gull live?
The glaucous gull has a lifespan of 21 years, with a highest reported value of 21.08 years.
How many eggs does the glaucous gull lay?
The glaucous gull lays 2.8 eggs per clutch and has 1 clutch per year. The eggs are incubated for 27.25 days.
Who named the glaucous gull?
The glaucous gull, Larus hyperboreus, was named by Gunnerus, 1767.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
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Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Glaucous gull (Larus hyperboreus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/glaucous-gull
“Glaucous gull (Larus hyperboreus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/glaucous-gull.
@misc{glaucous_gull_2026,
title = {Glaucous gull (Larus hyperboreus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/glaucous-gull},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}