Fulmarus glacialis
Silhouette: Bennet McComish, photo by Avenue · PhyloPic
In 3 days >90%
The northern fulmar, Arctic fulmar, or simply fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis) is an abundant seabird found primarily in subarctic regions of the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans. There has been one confirmed sighting in the Southern Hemisphere, with a single bird seen south of New Zealand. Fulmars come in one of two colour morphs; a light one in temperate populations, with white head and body and grey wings and tail, and a dark one in arctic populations, which is uniformly grey; intermediate birds are common. Though similar in appearance to gulls, fulmars are in fact members of the family Procellariidae, which includes petrels and shearwaters.
The northern fulmar and its sister species, the southern fulmar (Fulmarus glacialoides), are the only extant members of the genus Fulmarus. The fulmars are in turn a member of the order Procellariiformes, and they all share certain identifying features. First, they have nasal passages that attach to the upper bill called naricorns; however, nostrils on albatrosses are on the sides of the bill, as opposed to the rest of the order, including fulmars, which have nostrils on top of the upper bill. The bills of Procellariiformes are also unique in that they are split into between seven and nine horny plates. One of these plates makes up the hooked portion of the upper bill, called the maxillary unguis. They produce a stomach oil made up of wax esters and triglycerides that is stored in the proventriculus. This can be sprayed out of their mouths as a defense against predators from a very early age, and as an energy rich food source for chicks and for the adults during their long flights. It will mat the plumage of avian predators, and can lead to their death. Finally, they also have a salt gland that is situated above the nasal passage that helps desalinate their bodies, due to the high amount of ocean water that they imbibe. This gland excretes a high saline solution from their nose.
The northern fulmar was first described as Procellaria glacialis by Carl Linnaeus in 1761, based on a specimen from within the Arctic Circle, on Spitsbergen. The Mallemuk Mountain in Northeastern Greenland is named after the northern fulmar (Danish: Mallemuk). Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Svalbard | 🇳🇴 Norway | |
| 2 | Vatnajokull National Park | 🇮🇸 Iceland | |
| 3 | Kenai Fjords National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Channel Islands National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Great Bear Rainforest | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 6 | Olympic National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 8 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dublin | 🇮🇪 Ireland | |
| 2 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mountainaire Avian Rescue Society | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Nordsøen Oceanarium | 🇩🇰 Denmark |
No species of the same family or order lives in Vatnajokull National Park, so these are its closest relatives here: other birds.
Likely
About 60% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Fulmar sighting in Vatnajokull National Park on a given day, based on 441 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 5th most-seen of the 73 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March
In that month about 90% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Fulmar in Vatnajokull National Park on a given day, against about 40% in November and December, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Northern Fulmar sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 8
Of the 8 parks where we can rate Northern Fulmar sightings, Vatnajokull National Park ranks 2nd at about 60%. The best odds are in Svalbard (Norway, about 80%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Northern Fulmar is recorded against all the birds logged in Vatnajokull National Park (441 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
