Gull

"Seagull" redirects here. For , see .

Gulls are seabirds in the family Laridae. They are most closely related to the terns (family Sternidae), and more distantly to the waders, auks and skimmers. Most gulls belong to the large genus Larus.

They are in general medium to large birds, typically grey or white, often with black markings on the head or wings. They have stout, longish bills and webbed feet.

Most gulls, particularly Larus species, are ground nesting carnivores, which will take live food or scavenge opportunistically. The live food often includes crabs and small fish. Apart from the kittiwakes, gulls are typically coastal or inland species, rarely venturing far out to sea. The large species take up to four years to attain full adult plumage, but two years is typical for small gulls.

Gull in flight

Gulls—the larger species in particular—are resourceful and highly-intelligent birds, demonstrating complex methods of communication and a highly-developed social structure. Certain species (e.g. the Herring Gull) have exhibited tool use behaviour. Many species of gull have learned to co-exist successfully with man and have thrived in human habitats.

Two terms are in common usage among gull enthusiasts for subgroupings of the gulls:

Large white-headed gulls for the 16 Herring Gull-like species from Great Black-backed Gull to Lesser Black-backed Gull in the taxonomic list below
White-winged gulls for the two Arctic-breeding species Iceland Gull and Glaucous Gull

Hybridisation between species of gull occurs quite frequently, although to varying degrees depending on the species involved (see Hybridisation in gulls). The taxonomy of the large white-headed gulls is particularly complicated.

In common usage, members of various gull species are often called sea gulls or seagulls. This name is used by laypeople to refer to a common local species or all gulls in general, and has no fixed taxonomic meaning.

Contents

1 Species list
2 Gallery
3 Reference
4 External links

Species list

American Herring Gull, Larus smithsonianus
Andean Gull, Larus serranus
Armenian Gull, Larus armenicus
Audouin's Gull, Larus audouinii
Belcher's Gull, Larus belcheri
Black-billed Gull, Larus bulleri
Black-headed Gull, Larus ridibundus
Black-tailed Gull, Larus crassirostris
Bonaparte's Gull, Larus philadelphia
Brown-headed Gull, Larus brunnicephalus
Brown-hooded Gull, Larus maculipennis
California Gull, Larus californicus
Caspian Gull, Larus cachinnans
Common Gull or Mew Gull, Larus canus
Dolphin Gull, Larus scoresbii
East Siberian Herring Gull, Larus vegae
Franklin's Gull, Larus pipixcan
Glaucous Gull, Larus hyperboreus
Glaucous-winged Gull, Larus glaucescens
Great Black-backed Gull, Larus marinus
Great Black-headed Gull, Larus ichthyaetus
Grey Gull, Larus modestus
Grey-headed Gull, Larus cirrocephalus
Hartlaub's Gull, Larus hartlaubii
Heermann's Gull, Larus heermanni
Herring Gull, Larus argentatus
Heuglin's Gull, Larus heuglini
Iceland Gull, Larus glaucoides
Ivory Gull, Pagophila eburnea
Kelp Gull, Larus dominicanus
Kittiwake or Black-legged Kittiwake, Rissa tridactyla
Red-legged Kittiwake, Rissa brevirostris
Laughing Gull, Larus atricilla
Lava Gull, Larus fuliginosus
Lesser Black-backed Gull, Larus fuscus
Little Gull, Larus minutus
Mediterranean Gull, Larus melanocephalus
Olrog's Gull, Larus atlanticus
Pacific Gull, Larus pacificus
Red-billed Gull, Larus scopulinus
Relict Gull, Larus relictus
Ring-billed Gull, Larus delawarensis
Ross's Gull, Rhodostethia rosea
Sabine's Gull, Xema sabini
Saunders' Gull, Larus saundersi
Silver Gull, Larus novaehollandiae
Slaty-backed Gull, Larus schistisagus
Slender-billed Gull, Larus genei
Sooty Gull, Larus hemprichii
Swallow-tailed Gull, Creagrus furcatus
Thayer's Gull, Larus thayeri
Western Gull, Larus occidentalis
White-eyed Gull, Larus leucophthalmus
Yellow-footed Gull, Larus livens
Yellow-legged Gull, Larus michahellis

The American Ornithologists' Union combines Sternidae, Stercorariidae, and Rhynchopidae as subfamilies in the family Laridae.

Gallery

Image:Baby_gull.jpg|Baby gull at Trondheim, Norway. Image:Western Gull.jpg|Western Gull Image:Westgull.JPG|Western Gull At the Golden Gate Bridge San Francisco Image:herring.gull.northdevon.arp.750pix.jpg|Herring Gull on the North Devon coast, England Image:Seagull on sale pier.jpg|Silver Gull in Sale, Australia Image:Seagull04.jpg|Silver Gull at Sale, Australia Image:Seagull03.jpg|Silver Gull at Sale, Australia Image:Seagull_in_flight.JPG|Silver Gull at Rose Bay, Australia Image:Larus dominicanus.jpg|Kelp Gull in Chile Image:Mewa siodlata 2.jpg|Great Black-backed Gull, Stornoway, Hebrides Image:Red legged seagulls.jpg|Silver Gull Image:Seagull on sale pier02.jpg|Silver Gull at Sale, Australia Image:Seagull with bread in mouth.jpg|Silver Gull at Sale, Australia Image:Yellow legged seagull.jpg|Yellow legged seagull Image:Seagull_Ottawa_2005-09.jpg|Gull in Ottawa, Canada Image:Seagull.jpg|Herring Gull in Chile Image:Larus portrait.jpg|Yellow-legged Gull, Larus cachinnans michahellis, Elba Island, Italy Image:Heermann's Gull breeding adult.jpg|Heermann's Gull, breeding adult plumage at Monterey, California Image:Kelp_Gull_-_Gaviota_Dominicana_-_Larus_Dominicanus.jpg|Kelp Gull (Larus Dominicanus), taken at Con Con, Chile. Image:Seagull fremantle.jpg|Silver Gull in flight Fremantle, Western Australia.

Reference

Gulls of Europe, Asia and North America by Klaus Malling Olsen and Hans Larsson (2003) published by Helm ISBN 0-7136-7087-8

External links

[Rudy's Gull-index]: Pictures of several less well-known plumages of large gulls plus many links.
[The Norwegian Gull Page]: Huge picture archive including all NW European species, as well as features from the Nearctic and SE Europe.
[Bird pictures - Gulls]: Pictures and descriptions of large gulls from The Netherlands, France, Spain and Poland.
[Bird Hybrids Database]: Search for specific laridae hybrids by entering gull species name in query box. Click on hybrid for references.
[Gull videos] on the Internet Bird Collection

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