Afflux inhabituel de Mouettes blanches en janvier 2009

The Ivory Gull (Pagophila eburnea) is one of the most sought-after gulls by birdwatchers as it also one of the least often seen. Small and white-plumaged, it has a black eye, black legs, and a two-toned black-and-yellow bill; immatures have small amounts of black spotting or streaking, including a narrow band on the end of the tail.
The Ivory Gull breeds right around the northern hemisphere but rarely ventures south of the Arctic Circle, nesting on boulder fields and rocky cliffs inland from the frozen sea and wintering mostly on pack ice. It is an uncommon bird, and it has a patchy distribution around the high Arctic. Its total population is estimated at 12,000-14,000 pairs and possibly stable overall with locally severe declines.
It appears a bit of an invasion of Ivory Gulls is occurring during this month of January 2009 south of the normal wintering range of the species, with for example 40 birds in Newfoundland/Labrador, 2 birds in Massachusetts, 1 bird in Iceland, one in Great-Britain and one in France.
We present you this gull, one of the least known seabird in the World, and the unusual « invasion » of January 2009.