General Description: Glaucous-winged Gulls (Larus glaucescens) are large, white gulls with a pale gray mantle and light gray wingtips with white spots. The bill is large and yellow with a red spot on the lower mandible. The legs are pink. During winter, the head is lightly streaked.

Gulls take 2-4 years to mature. The plumage during the juvenile and subadult years differs from the adult breeding plumage, and the plumage also differs between summer and winter. Thus, there can be 7 or so different plumages for each species of gull, making identification difficult. Glaucous-winged Gulls take four years to mature.

Taxonomy: Charadriiformes, Laridae, Larinae.

Favored Habitat: Coastal Alaska during summer, and coastal California and Mexico during winter.

Where to Find: Don't look for Glaucous-winged Gulls around Las Vegas. Rather, look for them on the Pacific coast during winter.

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