Northern Fulmar
Fulmarus glacialis
暴风鹱
Introduction
A seabird in the order Procellariiformes and family Procellariidae. Found primarily in subarctic regions of the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans, with one confirmed Southern Hemisphere sighting south of New Zealand. Two colour morphs exist: light morph in temperate populations with white head and body and grey wings and tail, and dark morph in arctic populations that is uniformly grey, with intermediate birds common in the Pacific. Produces a stomach oil made of wax esters and triglycerides that can be sprayed as a defense against predators. Has a salt gland situated above the nasal passage that helps desalinate their bodies. Conservation status is Least Concern, with an estimated 15-30 million mature individuals.
Description
A medium-sized seabird with a wingspan of 102-112 cm (40-44 in) and body length of 46 cm (18 in). Body mass ranges from 450-1,000 g (16-35 oz). Features a pale yellow, thick bill and bluish legs. Plumage occurs in light and dark morphs, plus an intermediate morph in the Pacific. Light morph has white head and body with grey wings and tail; dark morph is uniformly grey. All morphs have pale inner primaries visible on the wing's upper surface. The Pacific morph has a darker tail than the Atlantic morph. Appears bull-necked compared to gulls, with a short stubby bill. Long-lived, with 31 years being common and over 50 years recorded.
Identification
Often confused with gulls but distinguished by stiff, rigid wing action unlike the fluid flight of gulls. The bull-necked appearance and short, thick yellowish bill are distinctive field marks. Dark morph appears uniformly grey, unlike any common gull. The pale inner primaries are visible in flight. Compared to similar petrels, the combination of stocky build, pale bill, and pale primaries helps distinguish it. The Pacific morph's darker tail contrasts with the paler-tailed Atlantic populations.
Distribution & Habitat
Breeds across subarctic North Atlantic and North Pacific regions. Three subspecies recognized: F.g. glacialis in high Arctic North Atlantic; F.g. auduboni in low arctic, boreal, and temperate North Atlantic; and F.g. rodgersii in the North Pacific from eastern Siberia through Alaska. Breeding occurs on coastal cliffs and grassy ledges. Northern populations remain at high latitudes in winter while southern populations migrate: Atlantic birds south to Great Britain, Portugal, and Delaware; Pacific birds south to Japan and Baja California. Range has expanded significantly in the British Isles over the last century.
Behavior & Ecology
Feeds on shrimp, fish, squid, plankton, jellyfish, and carrion, including refuse. Dives up to 4 meters deep to catch fish. Begins breeding at 6-12 years old, being monogamous with long-term pair bonds. Returns to the same nest site annually. Nests in large colonies on grassy ledges or ground scrapes, increasingly on rooftops. A single white egg measuring 74×51 mm is incubated for 50-54 days by both parents. Chick is brooded for 2 weeks and fledges after 70-75 days. During breeding, adults remain within 500 km of colonies. Vocalizations include grunting and chuckling while eating, and guttural calls during breeding season. Mating ritual involves male landing with bill open and performing head movements while calling.
Conservation
Listed as Least Concern by IUCN with an estimated 15-30 million mature individuals occupying 28,400,000 km². North American population is increasing, particularly in the British Isles where range expanded significantly last century due to fish offal from commercial fleets. May contract due to reduced offal availability and climate change. Stomach contents indicate marine debris: 89.5% of 143 birds sampled (2008-2013) contained microplastics, averaging 19.5 pieces and 0.461 g per individual. Ingestion occurs through the food web and may affect predators. Long-term data from Netherlands show increasing consumer plastics since the 1980s.
Culture
Features in Inuit mythology, particularly a story among central Inuit about the race-mother Sedna. According to legend, Sedna was wooed by a fulmar who promised her a delightful life. She married him but was cruelly mistreated. Her father visited a year later, killed her husband, and brought her home. The other fulmars followed, mourning and crying for their murdered fellow, and fulmars are said to utter doleful cries to this day as a result of this legend.
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0
Taxonomy
- Order
- Procellariiformes
- Family
- Procellariidae
- Genus
- Fulmarus
- eBird Code
- norful
Vocalizations
Subspecies (3)
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Fulmarus glacialis auduboni
breeds low Arctic and boreal North Atlantic from Newfoundland and Labrador (southeastern Canada), western and southern Greenland, and Iceland eastward to Novaya Zemlya (northwestern Russia)
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Fulmarus glacialis glacialis
breeds high Arctic from Baffin Bay area (northeastern Canada), northern Greenland to Svalbard and Franz Josef Land (far northwestern Russia); ranges southward in Gulf Stream to North Carolina and, in northeastern Atlantic, to Bay of Biscay
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Fulmarus glacialis rodgersii
breeds coasts of eastern Siberia from Chukchi Sea (eastern Russia) southward through Kuril Islands, and eastward through Aleutian Islands and Bering Sea coasts southward to British Columbia; ranges widely in Pacific, Chukchi and Beaufort seas southward to coastal waters of eastern Japan and western coast of Baja California (northwestern Mexico)
Data Sources
Species description from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Bird images and sounds sourced from GBIF, contributed by citizen scientists worldwide under Creative Commons licenses.
Taxonomy data from AviList 2025.