Newsletter / Blog
2012-03-12 What bird is the most northerly nesting bird?
The Ivory Gull is the most northerly
nesting bird.
The Ivory GullPagophila eburnean- is a small gull and the species survives year-round
in the High Arctic where it breeds in small, often inland, colonies scattered
across barren regions. It rarely is found away from pack ice.
Description
The adult has
completely white plumage, lacking the grey back of other gulls. The thick bill
is blue with a yellow tip, and the legs are black.
Call
The call is a
harsh tern-like eeeer.
Food
It feeds on fish,
crustaceans, rodents, eggs and small chicks, but is also an opportunist
scavenger. Hovers, dips, and plunges into water to get food.
Breeding
They breed on
Arctic coasts and cliffs, laying one to three olive eggs in a ground nest lined
with moss, lichens, or seaweed.
Conservation Status – Near threatened.
The ivory gull is
globally rare and probably does not number more than 12,000 breeding
pairs. The majority nest in Russia, where numbers appear to be
stable. |