Ivory Gull

Ivory Gull 

(Pagophila eburnea), a bird of the family Laridae of the order Charadriiformes. Its plumage is white; immature birds have dark spots. The beak is yellow with a greenish base; the bare ring around the eye is red; and the legs are black. The body is approximately 45 cm long.

Ivory gulls inhabit islands in the high arctic latitudes. They begin reproduction at the beginning of July. There are one or two eggs in the clutch, and both parents sit on the nest for about a month. The young are hatched covered with down. By the end of the first year the immature birds have acquired their mature plumage. The birds feed on sea invertebrates, carrion, and the excrement of seals, walruses, and polar bears. Their flight is light and swift, and they move well on the ground; they float, but light on the water reluctantly.

REFERENCE

Ptitsy Sovetskogo Soiuza, vol. 3. Edited by G. P. Dement’ev and N. A. Gladkov. Moscow, 1951.

A. M. SUDILOVSKAIA