CreatureData

Iceland gull

Larus glaucoides B. Meyer, 1822

LCLeast Concernbirds

The iceland gull (Larus glaucoides) is a species in the family Laridae, order Charadriiformes. Recorded adults weigh 693.3 g to 863 g and live up to 33 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Iceland gull (Larus glaucoides)
Photo: MPF · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the iceland gull

Weight
693.3 g – 863 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Wingspan
1.45 msrc for Wingspan
Lifespan
33 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
coastalsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
25 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
2.39src 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 iceland gull?

ICELAND GULL · WINGSPAN 1.45 MADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 1.45 m, the recorded maximum wingspan of the iceland gull is about 85% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Where does the iceland gull live?

Not recorded

What is the iceland gull?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The Iceland gull (Larus glaucoides) is a medium-sized gull that breeds in the Arctic regions of Canada and Greenland, but not in Iceland (as its name suggests), where it is only seen during winter. The genus name is from Latin larus, which appears to have referred to a gull or other large seabird. The specific name glaucoides denotes its resemblance to Larus glaucus, a synonym of Larus hyperboreus, the glaucous gull; -oides is Ancient Greek and means "resembling".

From the Wikipedia article “Iceland gull” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Iceland_gull&oldid=1346733143), 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 iceland gull endangered?

The iceland gull is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the iceland gull classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderCharadriiformes
  5. familyLaridae
  6. genusLarus
  7. SpeciesLarus glaucoides B. Meyer, 1822

Synonyms Laroides subleucopterus, Larus icelandicus, Larus leucopterus, Larus leucopterus

Other names and names in other languages (72)
  • Thayer's gullEnglish
  • نورس آيسلنداArabic
  • gaviota islandesaAsturian
  • Gavilueta d'IslandiaAsturian
  • Белокрила чайкаBulgarian
  • Малка белокрила чайкаBulgarian
  • Gouelan arc'hlasBreton
  • Gavina polarCatalan
  • gavinot polarCatalan
  • racek polárníCzech
  • gwylan yr ArctigWelsh
  • Gwylanod yr ArctigWelsh
  • hvidvinget mågeDanish
  • PolarmöweGerman
  • ΠαγόγλαροςGreek
  • ΙσλανδόγλαροςGreek
  • Γλάρος της ΙσλανδίαςGreek
  • blankflugila mevoEsperanto
  • Gaviota polarSpanish
  • Gaviota de GroenlandiaSpanish
  • Gaviota groenlandesaSpanish
  • polaarkajakasEstonian
  • Kaio ega-zuriBasque
  • grönlanninlokkiFinnish
  • Lítil valmásiFaroese
  • Goéland arctiqueFrench
  • goéland à ailes blanchesFrench
  • Faoileán ÍoslannachIrish
  • Faoileag liathScottish Gaelic
  • Gaivota polarGalician
  • Foillan EeslynnaghManx
  • Foillan LoughlinaghManx
  • שחף איסלנדיHebrew
  • arktički galebCroatian
  • sarki sirályHungarian
  • NaujaqInuktitut
  • BjartmáfurIcelandic
  • Bjartmáfur Vestrænn bjartmáfur (kumlieni)Icelandic
  • Gabbiano d'IslandaItalian
  • アイスランドカモメJapanese
  • NaajaKalaallisut
  • NaajaannaqKalaallisut
  • 작은흰갈매기Korean
  • mažasis poliarinis kirasLithuanian
  • mazā polārkaijaLatvian
  • grønlandsmåkeNorwegian Bokmål
  • kleine burgemeesterDutch
  • grønlandsmåseNorwegian Nynorsk
  • mewa polarnaPolish
  • gaivota-polarPortuguese
  • gaivota-brancaPortuguese
  • Pescăruş cu aripi albeRomanian
  • Полярная чайкаRussian
  • Исландская чайкаRussian
  • малая полярная чайкаRussian
  • VilgessoadjaskávliNorthern Sami
  • dálvvitNorthern Sami
  • VilgessoadjeskávliNorthern Sami
  • vilgessoajat gáiruNorthern Sami
  • čajka bielokrídlaSlovak
  • polarni galebSlovenian
  • Islandski galebSerbian
  • vitvingad trutSwedish
  • izlanda martısıTurkish
  • Grönland MartısıTurkish
  • Мартин ісландськийUkrainian
  • мартин гренландськийUkrainian
  • Мартин малий полярнийUkrainian
  • мала полярна чайкаUkrainian
  • 冰岛鸥Chinese
  • 冰島鷗Chinese
  • 冰洲鷗Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the iceland gull

Other species in the same genus Larus.

CompareIceland gull vs European herring gullIceland gull vs Common gullIceland gull vs Lesser black-backed gullIceland gull vs Great black-backed gull

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the iceland gull?

An adult iceland gull weighs 693.3 g – 863 g and has a wingspan of 1.45 m, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the iceland gull endangered?

The iceland gull is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

How long does the iceland gull live?

The iceland gull has a recorded lifespan of 33 years.

What kind of animal is the iceland gull?

The iceland gull (Larus glaucoides) belongs to the family Laridae in the order Charadriiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Iceland gull (Larus glaucoides). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/iceland-gull

MLA

“Iceland gull (Larus glaucoides).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/iceland-gull.

BibTeX
@misc{iceland_gull_2026,
  title = {Iceland gull (Larus glaucoides)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/iceland-gull},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}