Birdorable Northern Fulmar

Birdorable Northern Fulmar

The Northern Fulmar is a petrel that lives in the northern oceans, across the Atlantic and Pacific. It is abundant in Alaska and the Canadian Arctic, but few people ever see them there as they tend to breed in remote places. In contrast, around Iceland, the Faroe Islands and British Isles they have undergone a spectacular increase in their population in the last two centuries and they are commonly seen as a result. They are one of the longest-lived birds, with an average life span of about 32 years. In Scotland, birds that were banded in 1951 were still found breeding in 1990 at ages likely greater than 50 years!

Fýll Northern Fulmar(Fulmarus glacialis)
Photo by diddý (source: Flickr)

It is similar in appearance to a gull, but stockier with a thick neck and more rounded wings. They have a short, thick bill, with a little tube on top. Fulmars come in many different colors, referred to as light morph, intermediate morph and dark morph, but also in every gradation in between. There is no generally accepted explanation for this variety.

Northern Fulmar Morphs

Here is a picture of a dark morph Northern Fulmar:

Northern Fulmar
Photo by Glen Tepke (source: Flickr)

If you like our cute Northern Fulmar, check out our other 233 Birdorable birds.

Comments

Spurwing Plover on May 26, 2022 at 7:21 AM wrote:
If your not careful they will spit up some nasty smelling oil on you

Leave a comment

Comments with links or HTML will be deleted. Your comment will be published pending approval.
Your email address will not be published

2016 Bonanza Bird #5: Ovenbird

Today's new species is a relatively large ground-dwelling wood warbler that lives across much of North America: the Ovenbird!Ovenbirds are relatively abundant across their range, which includes much of North America; they are not found in the far west. They are migratory,...

The Wood Thrush's double voice box

Today we have added a new species to Birdorable: the Wood Thrush. The Wood Thrush is a medium-sized songbird in the thrush family. Related birds include the familiar American Robin as well as the Blackbird of Europe....

2014 Bonanza Bird #2: Song Sparrow

The second bird in our 2014 Bonanza is a North American sparrow: the Song Sparrow! In our clue yesterday, we indicated that the Song Sparrow is an LBJ with a...

2015 Bonanza Bird #5: Great Spotted Woodpecker

Today our Birdorable Bonanza: 2015 Advent Edition continues with a fairly common Old World woodpecker species: the Great Spotted Woodpecker! The Great Spotted Woodpecker is found across Europe and northern Asia. This is a resident (non-migratory) species for the most part,...