Scientific name: Pagophila eburnea (Phipps, 1774)
Bird group: Gulls and Terns
Field characters. 40-43 cm. Easily recognised middle-sized gull with light and graceful flight. Adult ivory-white; juvenile speckled black around bill-base, on wings and on tail. Black legs rule out confusion with albinistic gulls.
Voice. Resembles call of Common Tern: "kree-ar"; long call similar to Black-headed Gull: "keeeeer".
Distribution. High-arctic breeder; in W Palearctic on Spitsbergen and Nova Zembla.
Habitat. Usually breeds in the presence of pack-ice and snow. Normally doesn't leave drift- and pack-ice zone outside breeding season.
Food. Invertebrates, fish; also excrements, prey remains (from polar bears and seals), carrion and offal.