NORTHERN FULMAR
NORTHERN FULMAR (Fulmarus glacialis) – (See images below)
DESCRIPTION: The Northern Fulmar is a pelagic bird with two main morphs. In the white morph the head, neck, breast and under parts are white, and the back, wings and tail are grey. Dark morph is grey. Eyes are dark. Bill is creamy with a yellow hooked tip and made of plates where the nostrils occupy a tube (see photo below) at the base of the upper mandible. Legs and webbed feet are pinkish grey. Sexes as well as juveniles are similar. Bird is around 45 cm (18 inches) long.
VOICE: https://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Fulmarus-glacialis
NAME: ‘Fulmar’ (and Latin genus name ‘Fulmarus’) derives from Old Norse ‘ful’ which means ‘foul’, and ‘mar’, which means ‘gull’. This is in reference to the foul odor of the oil the bird emits as a defense mechanism (see note below on ‘Tubenose species’). Latin species name ‘glacialis’ refers to its high Arctic range. Also called ‘Fulmar’ or ‘Arctic Fulmar’.
HABITAT: Rocky cliffs on small islands in the summer, open seas.
DIET: Fish, squid, crustaceans, jellyfish, some garbage. Dive a few meters (yards) for fish, also follow fishing boats for offal.
BREEDING/NESTING: Starts breeding at 8 to 10 years old, may breed until age 50. Breeds in colonies. Nest is a scrape on the ground. One single white egg is laid, incubated by both parents. Chick fed by both parents. During this period parents are active at night to prevent egg/chick predation.
DISTRIBUTION: Breeds on rocky islands and coasts of high arctic countries around the globe. Lives in open seas in northern waters around the globe or edge of pack ice outside breeding season. Winter visitor to Hawaii. Some vagrants have been reported as far away as New Zealand (see note below on Bird Vagrancy).
Distribution Map: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_fulmar#/media/File:FULMAR.gif
ON PEI: Does not breed on Prince Edward Island, sightings rare in summer or fall.
CONSERVATION: Widespread, population stable or increasing, not at risk.
Tubenose species: Fulmars are part of an order of birds that includes seabirds with a ‘tubenose’ bill. The highly specialized bill is made of plates and the nostrils are inside one of them in the shape of a ‘tube’. The birds can drink seawater, and have glands in their bill to extract the salt from the water. Their nostrils also have a self-defensive feature – when threatened they can spit out a foul-smelling oil from that organ. Fulmars also have a high sense of olfaction and their bill is equipped to detect food sources near the water surface.
Vagrancy: In biology this means an animal going way outside its normal range. For birds, this can happen when there are storms and they get blown off course. On other times, the bird simply wanders in a different direction than usual. Here’s an article about vagrancy in birds.
SIMILAR SPECIES: Herring Gull (fulmar white morph), Sooty Shearwater (fulmar dark morph)
REFERENCES: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_fulmar
https://www.spitsbergen-svalbard.com/spitsbergen-information/wildlife/northern-fulmar.html
http://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/northern-fulmar (New Zealand Birds Online) Vagrant
Northern Fulmar, Alaska Fish and Wildlife Service (.pdf file)
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Fulmar/overview
https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/northern-fulmar
https://identify.whatbird.com/obj/610/overview/Northern_Fulmar.aspx
http://www.arctic.uoguelph.ca/cpl/organisms/birds/marine/fulmars/northernF.htm
http://www.oiseaux-birds.com/card-northern-fulmar.html
DESCRIPTION: The Northern Fulmar is a pelagic bird with two main morphs. In the white morph the head, neck, breast and under parts are white, and the back, wings and tail are grey. Dark morph is grey. Eyes are dark. Bill is creamy with a yellow hooked tip and made of plates where the nostrils occupy a tube (see photo below) at the base of the upper mandible. Legs and webbed feet are pinkish grey. Sexes as well as juveniles are similar. Bird is around 45 cm (18 inches) long.
VOICE: https://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Fulmarus-glacialis
NAME: ‘Fulmar’ (and Latin genus name ‘Fulmarus’) derives from Old Norse ‘ful’ which means ‘foul’, and ‘mar’, which means ‘gull’. This is in reference to the foul odor of the oil the bird emits as a defense mechanism (see note below on ‘Tubenose species’). Latin species name ‘glacialis’ refers to its high Arctic range. Also called ‘Fulmar’ or ‘Arctic Fulmar’.
HABITAT: Rocky cliffs on small islands in the summer, open seas.
DIET: Fish, squid, crustaceans, jellyfish, some garbage. Dive a few meters (yards) for fish, also follow fishing boats for offal.
BREEDING/NESTING: Starts breeding at 8 to 10 years old, may breed until age 50. Breeds in colonies. Nest is a scrape on the ground. One single white egg is laid, incubated by both parents. Chick fed by both parents. During this period parents are active at night to prevent egg/chick predation.
DISTRIBUTION: Breeds on rocky islands and coasts of high arctic countries around the globe. Lives in open seas in northern waters around the globe or edge of pack ice outside breeding season. Winter visitor to Hawaii. Some vagrants have been reported as far away as New Zealand (see note below on Bird Vagrancy).
Distribution Map: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_fulmar#/media/File:FULMAR.gif
ON PEI: Does not breed on Prince Edward Island, sightings rare in summer or fall.
CONSERVATION: Widespread, population stable or increasing, not at risk.
Tubenose species: Fulmars are part of an order of birds that includes seabirds with a ‘tubenose’ bill. The highly specialized bill is made of plates and the nostrils are inside one of them in the shape of a ‘tube’. The birds can drink seawater, and have glands in their bill to extract the salt from the water. Their nostrils also have a self-defensive feature – when threatened they can spit out a foul-smelling oil from that organ. Fulmars also have a high sense of olfaction and their bill is equipped to detect food sources near the water surface.
Vagrancy: In biology this means an animal going way outside its normal range. For birds, this can happen when there are storms and they get blown off course. On other times, the bird simply wanders in a different direction than usual. Here’s an article about vagrancy in birds.
SIMILAR SPECIES: Herring Gull (fulmar white morph), Sooty Shearwater (fulmar dark morph)
REFERENCES: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_fulmar
https://www.spitsbergen-svalbard.com/spitsbergen-information/wildlife/northern-fulmar.html
http://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/northern-fulmar (New Zealand Birds Online) Vagrant
Northern Fulmar, Alaska Fish and Wildlife Service (.pdf file)
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Fulmar/overview
https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/northern-fulmar
https://identify.whatbird.com/obj/610/overview/Northern_Fulmar.aspx
http://www.arctic.uoguelph.ca/cpl/organisms/birds/marine/fulmars/northernF.htm
http://www.oiseaux-birds.com/card-northern-fulmar.html
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| Northern fulmar on nest, by rodtuk |
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| Northern fulmar by Andreas Trepte |
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| Northern fulmar head, by Steve Garvie |
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| Northern fulmar colony, Anthony Hickey |
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| Northern fulmars flying, Alan Schmierer |
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| Northern fulmar, dark morph, Daniele 1357 |