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GALLERIES > BIRDS > CHARADRIIFORMES > LARIDAE > LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL [Larus fuscus]    [plot on map]


Lesser Black-backed Gull Photo @ Kiwifoto.com
 
 
Location: Gardur, Iceland
GPS: 64.1N, -22.7W, elev=2' MAP
Date: June 11, 2018
ID : B13K6510 [4896 x 3264]

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Lesser Black-backed Gull Image @ Kiwifoto.com
 
 
Location: Björko, Stockholms län, Sweden
GPS: 59.3N, 17.5E, elev=29' MAP
Date: May 27, 2023
ID : B13K4476 [4896 x 3264]

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Lesser Black-backed Gull Image @ Kiwifoto.com
 
 
Location: Grotta, Reykjavik, Iceland
GPS: 64.2N, -22.0W, elev=4' MAP
Date: June 20, 2018
ID : B13K7683 [4896 x 3264]

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Lesser Black-backed Gull Photo @ Kiwifoto.com
 
 
Location: Grotta, Reykjavik, Iceland
GPS: 64.2N, -22.0W, elev=4' MAP
Date: June 20, 2018
ID : B13K7689 [4896 x 3264]

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Lesser Black-backed Gull Image @ Kiwifoto.com
 
 
Location: Grotta, Reykjavik, Iceland
GPS: 64.2N, -22.0W, elev=4' MAP
Date: June 20, 2018
ID : B13K7679 [4896 x 3264]

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Lesser Black-backed Gull Photo @ Kiwifoto.com
 
 
Location: Grotta, Reykjavik, Iceland
GPS: 64.2N, -22.0W, elev=4' MAP
Date: June 20, 2018
ID : B31K7687 [3888 x 2592]

bird photography

Lesser Black-backed Gull Picture @ Kiwifoto.com
 
 
Location: Grundarfjordur, Iceland
GPS: 64.9N, -23.2W, elev=0' MAP
Date: June 12, 2018
ID : B13K6559 [4896 x 3264]

nature photography

Lesser Black-backed Gull Picture @ Kiwifoto.com
 
 
Location: New Berwick, Scotland, United Kingdom
GPS: 56.1N, -2.7W, elev=4' MAP
Date: January 1, 2012
ID : B13K2255 [4896 x 3264]

bird photography

Lesser Black-backed Gull Picture @ Kiwifoto.com
 
 
Location: Jekyll Island, GA
GPS: 31.1N, -81.4W, elev=7' MAP
Date: February 10, 2008
ID : 3608 [3888 x 2592]

Lesser Black-backed Gull Photo @ Kiwifoto.com
 
 
Location: Rockport, TX
GPS: 28.0N, -97.0W, elev=0' MAP
Date: February 1, 2009
ID : 7C2V4368 [3888 x 2592]

bird photography

Lesser Black-backed Gull Photo @ Kiwifoto.com
 
 
Location: Rockport, TX
GPS: 28.0N, -97.0W, elev=0' MAP
Date: February 1, 2009
ID : 7C2V4360 [3888 x 2592]

bird photography

SPECIES INFO

The Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus) is a large gull which breeds on the Atlantic coasts of Europe. It is migratory, wintering from the British Isles south to West Africa. It is also a regular winter visitor to the east coast of North America, probably from the breeding population in Iceland.

This species breeds colonially on coasts and lakes, making a lined nest on the ground or cliff. Normally, three eggs are laid.

They are similar in size to the Herring Gull or just slightly smaller. The taxonomy of the Herring Gull / Lesser Black-backed Gull complex is very complicated; different authorities recognise between two and eight species. This group has a ring distribution around the northern hemisphere. Differences between adjacent forms in this ring are fairly small, but by the time the circuit is completed, the end members, Herring Gull and Lesser Black-backed Gull, are clearly different species.

The only confusable species in Europe is Great Black-backed Gull. Lesser is a smaller bird, with slimmer build, yellow rather than pinkish legs and smaller white "mirrors" at the wing tips. The adults have black or dark grey wings (depending on race) and back. The bill is yellow with a red spot which young peck at, inducing feeding (see fixed action pattern). The head is greyer in winter, unlike Great Black-backed.

Young birds have scaly black-brown upperparts and a neat wing pattern. They take four years to reach maturity. Identification from juvenile Herring Gulls is most readily done by the more solidly dark (unbarred) tertial feathers.

The call is a "laughing" cry like that of the Herring Gull (to which this species is closely related), but with a markedly deeper pitch.

They are omnivores like most Larus gulls, and they will scavenge as well as seek suitable small prey.

There are three races:

  • Larus fuscus fuscus - Baltic Sea, eastern Scandinavia. Mantle jet black.
  • Larus fuscus intermedius - Denmark, Netherlands, Norway. Mantle sooty black.
  • Larus fuscus graellsii - British Isles, Iceland, northern France. Mantle dark grey.





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    lesser_black_backed_gull's Range Map Click here to see the Lesser Black-backed Gull's range map!
    Listen to the Lesser Black-backed Gull Song:



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