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Photo by Rob
Location: Svalbard

Pagophila eburnea

[edit] Identification

L. 43 cm (17 in)

[edit] Adult

• Completely white plumage
• Thick blue bill with yellow tip
• Dark eye
• Black legs

[edit] Immature

• Dusky face
• Variable amounts of black flecking in wings and tail

Juveniles take two years to attain full adult plumage. ¹

[edit] Distribution

Greenland, and northernmost North America and Eurasia.

[edit] Taxonomy

Monotypic.

[edit] Habitat

Arctic coasts, cliffs, and ice pack.

[edit] Behaviour

[edit] Breeding

1-3 olive eggs are laid in a ground nest lined with moss, lichens or seaweed.

[edit] Diet

Includes fish and crustaceans, but it is also an opportunist scavenger, found on seal or porpoise corpses. It has been known to follow polar bears and other predators to feed on the remains of their kills. ²

[edit] Vocalisation

Its cry is a harsh eeeer. ²

[edit] References

1. Absolute Astronomy
2. Wikipedia

[edit] External Links