| Lesser Black-backed Gull | |
|---|---|
 Adult in winter | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Charadriiformes |
| Family: | Laridae |
| Genus: | Larus |
| Species: | Larus fuscus |
The Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus) is a gull similar to a Herring Gull.
Description[]
The adult of both sexes has a mostly white body, yellow legs and webbed feet, a yellow beak with a red spot on the tip of the lower mandible, and long, narrow, pointed wings, dark grey with a white border and black wingtips on their upper side. The back is also dark grey. The juvenile has a mostly dark brown mottled plumage. With its 52-67 centimeters body length, 135-155 centimeters in wingspan, and 770 grams weight, this gull is the same size as its relatives, the Herring Gull and the Yellow-legged Gull. It can be told apart from those two because of the darker colour of its upperparts. This makes it similar to the Great Black-backed Gull, which, however, is larger and has pinkish legs.
Distribution and Habitat[]
The Lesser Black-backed Gull breeds on the European coasts of the Atlantic Ocean and on the coasts of Siberia, as well as in some areas of the Mediterranean. It winters on the coasts of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea, and along the Nile. It is an uncommon, but regular visitor to eastern North America.
Life History[]
Diet[]
They eat fish, marine invertebrates, insects, birds, eggs, carrion, and garbage.
Nesting[]
Each couple utilizes the same nesting site every year. They lay their eggs (usually 1 or 4) on the ground, usually hidden in bushes, grass or rocks on a slope by the sea. The eggs are olive with markings variable or lacking. They are incubated by both parents (though mostly by the female) for 25-33 days. Chicks semiprecocial at hatching; may leave nest cup in several days. They are covered in cryptically colored down. The young, fed by both parents, fledge at around 6 weeks of age.
Behavior[]
Lesser Black-backed Gulls are social; living in flocks. They capture prey while walking or swimming; dipping food from surface of the water. It sometimes steals food from other birds.
Sounds[]
Their calls are a loud, clear bugling.
Conservation[]
There is little information on Lesser Black-backed Gull population numbers and trends. The North American Waterbird Conservation Plan lists it as a Species of Moderate Concern. Lesser Black-backed Gulls appear to be expanding both their wintering and breeding ranges.
Gallery[]
