The glaucous-winged gull (Larus glaucescens) is a large, white-headed gull. This gull is a large bird, being close in size and shape to the closely related Western gull (L. occidentalis). It has a white head, neck, breast, and belly, a white tail. The silver-gray wings and back form the mantle, which is darker than that of the Glaucous gull and paler than the Herring gull and Western Gull. The primary flight feathers (wingtips) are grey, usually the same shade as the mantle. Its legs are pink and the beak is yellow with a red subterminal spot (the spot near the end of the bill that chicks peck in order to stimulate regurgitative feeding). The irises are typically dark, and surrounded by pink orbital skin. The forehead is somewhat flat. During the winter, the head and nape is darker with a varied smudged or mottled pattern, and the bill colour becomes duller, often with dark markings near the tip. Young birds are brown or gray with black beaks, and take four years to reach adult plumage.