IC 2177 is a bright HII region (also designated S296) located on the border of Monoceros and Canis Major suggesting the image of a bird or more specifically a seagull. The complex consists of mostly emission with scattered blue reflection and dark dust clouds. The exciting stars of the nebula belong to the Canis Major OB1 association. The bright HII region ( IC 2177, S296) is about one million years old and has two imbedded prominent clusters NGC 2335 and NGC 2343. The two clusters are thought to represent a double cluster of common origin, similar to, but less impressive than the famous "Double Cluster".

There are many separately catalogued objects within the IC 2177 complex. IC 2177 refers to the wings of the "seagull". The head of the seagull is designated vdB 93 and is bisected by a prominent dust lane and subtle reflection clouds. Cederblad 90 is a bright patch of HII emission at the tip of the southern wing of the Seagull. Aside from NGC 2343 and NGC 2335, several other clusters including Collinder 465 and 466 are imbedded in the nebula.