Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus)

Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Austria (NB), Barbados, Belgium (NB), Belize, Bermuda, Bulgaria (NB), Canada (B) (NB) (P), Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark (B) (NB) (P), Dominica, Dominican Republic, Estonia (B) (NB), Faroe Islands (B) (NB), Finland (B) (NB) (P), France (B) (NB) (P), Germany (B) (P), Gibraltar, Greece (NB), Greenland (B) (NB), Guadeloupe, Haiti, Iceland (B) (NB), Ireland (B) (NB), Italy, Latvia (B) (NB), Lithuania (NB), Macedonia [The Former Yugoslav Republic of] (NB), Martinique, Montserrat, Netherlands (B) (NB), Norway (B), Poland (NB) (P), Portugal (NB), Puerto Rico, Romania (NB), Russia (European) (B) (P), Slovakia (Slovak Republic) (NB), Spain (NB), St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Pierre and Miquelon (B) (NB), St Vincent and The Grenadines, Sweden (B) (NB) (P), Switzerland (NB), United Kingdom (B) (NB), USA (B).

Vagrant to Algeria, Aruba, Bahamas, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia (Local Name: Hrvatska), Cyprus, Egypt, Hungary, India, Iran [Islamic Republic of], Israel, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Mauritania, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands Antilles, Russia (Central Asian), Serbia, Slovenia (NB), Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, Turkey, Venezuela, Virgin Islands (U.S.).

Great Lakes, eastern Canada and USA to North Carolina; southern Greenland; Iceland, Faeroes, British Is, north-western France and Scandinavia east to at least White Sea, including Bear I and Spitsbergen. Winters south to West Indies and Iberia, occasionally reaching Morocco.

Population
Estimated population is 540,000 - 750,000 (2010).

Status LC
Hunting for sport (Denmark) is the main threat.

For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Food
Omnivorous. Eggs, young birds, fish, shellfish and carrion. Predator of smaller seabirds and scavenger.

Voice
A deep, barking, 'owk uk-uk-uk' and various wailing and squeaking calls.

Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (262)...)

Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) [XC733350]
by Irish Wildlife Sounds from Ladys Island Chruch (near Our lady's Island), Wexford, County Wexford, Ireland (flight call)

Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) [XC325061]
by david m from Skokholm Island, Pembrokeshire, Wales, United Kingdom (call, flight call)

Nest
Large pile of seaweed, vegetation and debris on the ground, cliff or roof of a building.

Eggs (Guide)
2 - 3; smooth, usually buff or olive-brown, but occasionally bluish, blotched and spotted with dark brown; oval. Incubation: about 27 days; by both sexes.

Subspecies
No subspecies.

References
See References.

The Reader's Digest Book of British Birds 1980, 3rd Edition, Drive Publications Ltd ISBN 0 340 25308 8
Birds in Colour Campbell, B., 1960, Penguin Books Ltd
The Pocket Guide to Nest and Eggs Fitter, R.S.R., 1954, Collins
RSPB Handbook of British Birds Holden, P., Cleeves, T., 2002, A & C Black ISBN 0 7136 5713 8
Birds of Britain and Europe Sterry, P., et al., 2001, AA Publishing ISBN 0 7495 3068 5
The Popular Handbook of British Birds Hollom, P.A.D., 1973, H.F. & G. Witherby Ltd ISBN 0 85493 002 7

Files:

JPG files for Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) - 10 files

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BirdLife International

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BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

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