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The Common Gull is a medium-sized gull of northern Europe and Asia, and in the United States it is only a rare visitor. Until 2021, North America's Short-billed Gull was treated as part of this species, and the combined group was called the "Mew Gull." Adults have a gray back, a small greenish-yellow bill, and yellow legs.

Appearance

Appearance
About 16–18 in (40–46 cm) long with a wingspan of roughly 3.3–3.8 ft (100–115 cm). Adults have a white head and body, gray back, and black wingtips with white spots. The bill is short and thin; in winter the head is streaked gray and the bill may show a faint dark band.
Voice
A high-pitched, laughing call.

Look-alikes

Short-billed GullLarus brachyrhynchus

Short-billed Gulls are smaller with a shorter bill and show less black on the wingtips. Young Short-billed Gulls look darker and more smudged on the head and neck than young Common Gulls.

Why they get mixed upThey were the same species until 2021 and look nearly identical.

Ring-billed GullLarus delawarensis

Ring-billed Gulls have a bold black ring around a thicker yellow bill. Adult Common Gulls have a slimmer bill, at most with a faint dark band in winter.

Why they get mixed upBoth are medium-sized gray-backed gulls with yellow legs, and young Common Gulls look especially like young Ring-billed Gulls.

Where it lives

Typical habitats
  • Coasts
  • Estuaries
  • Harbors
  • Lakes
Range
Breeds across the far north of Europe and Asia, from Iceland to northeastern Siberia, and winters south to the Mediterranean, the Middle East, Japan, Korea, and southeastern China. In North America it is a scarce winter visitor to the coast of eastern Canada and a to the northeastern US; the Kamchatka form occasionally turns up in northwestern North America, mostly in spring.
Seasonal presence
Not a regular US bird; most records are of rare strays.

Behavior

Diet
An omnivore that scavenges and also catches small prey such as fish and crabs.

Life cycle

Nest
Usually nests in colonies on the ground, in marshes, or in small trees near water.
Clutch size
Usually 3 eggs
Incubation
24–26 days, by both parents
Fledging
About 35 days
Time to maturity
Takes 3 years to reach adult plumage, up to 4 in the Kamchatka form.

Name and classification

About the name
In 2021 the American Ornithological Society split the North American population off as the Short-billed Gull (Larus brachyrhynchus), based on genetics, plumage, size, and calls. The remaining species took the name Common Gull. It has three : the European L. c. canus, the Russian L. c. heinei, and the Kamchatka Gull (L. c. kamtschatschensis), which some experts think may be its own species.

Conservation

IUCN Red List
LCLeast ConcernLow risk of extinction

Culture and stories

Culture and stories
  • The name "common gull" was coined by Thomas Pennant in 1768, who thought it was the most numerous gull of its kind. The species name canus is Latin for "gray."

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Common Gull (Larus canus) — identification, habitat & look-alikes | Moeyo