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Project Noah Nature School
Pagophila eburnea
A beautiful, rare bird that is only found in the high Arctic. It is the only pure white gull, has a blue bill with a yellow tip and black legs. Its call is very similar to a tern's, a high pitched screeching noise. Has its own genus and is quite different in many aspects from most of the Larus gulls. They looked almost magical against the blue sky, quite possibly my favourite bird spotting of my trip.
Circumpolar distribution, but found only in the high Arctic.
These gorgeous birds were found only in the Greenland sea ice, and around the Svalbard archipelago. These pictures were taken in the NE Greenland sea ice.
Spotted on Jun 14, 2012
Submitted on Jul 11, 2012
16 Comments
Beautiful
awesome captures!
Thank you so much everyone :) They certainly are beautiful, one of my favourite living things!
Wonderful spotting :)
Beautiful and rare bird.
Thank you everyone! Elsa, I saw your pic on Flickr, great snap! They are such gorgeous birds, aren't they? I saw some at Spitsbergen too, but mostly out in Greenland.
How beautiful!
Beautiful bird!
Beautiful! I got so excited when I spotted one in Spitsbergen!! Said to be the most beautiful bird of the arctic :)
Great spotting...
Laura... its look to be you have enjoyed Arctic visit perfectly....!!
Beautiful.
Really wonderful!
How lovely!
Wonderful to see organisms in the Arctic! Thank you for sharing your spottings with us.
Fantastic! So pure. I love the map placement Laura. Wiki says it follows polar bears around.
Beautiful!!