Birds of the World

    CHARADRIIFORMES: Laridae (Gulls, Terns, Skimmers)  
Genus: Larus (24 species)


European Herring Gull
European Herring Gull (Larus argentatus argenteus)
Range: PAL: coastal and inland Iceland to w France and nw, sw Russia
Faroe Island,  
 
Photograph by Francesco Veronesi     Copyright and usage info

European Herring Gull
European Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) Immature
Range: PAL: coastal and inland Iceland to w France and nw, sw Russia
 
 
Photograph by Hans Hillewaert     Copyright and usage info

A very large, common and widespread gull more common in northern (cold) climates. Note less rounded head and stockier shape than slightly smaller gulls like the Lesser Black-backed Gull.

No Image
Armenian Gull (Larus armenicus)
Range: PAL: lakes of s Georgia, Armenia, e Turkey and nw Iran
 



Olrog's Gull
Olrog's Gull (Larus atlanticus) Near Threatened
Range: SA: coastal s Buenos Aires and Chubut provinces (ne, ec Argentina)
Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil  
   
Photograph by Cláudio D. Timm     Copyright and usage info

Olrog's Gull
Olrog's Gull (Larus atlanticus) Immature Near Threatened
Range: SA: coastal s Buenos Aires and Chubut provinces (ne, ec Argentina)
Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil  
   
Photograph by Cláudio D. Timm     Copyright and usage info


Belcher's Gull
Belcher's Gull (Larus belcheri)
Range: SA: w coast and islets of South America from n Peru to n Chile
Paracas, Peru
  White head is breeding plumage.
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Belcher's Gull
Belcher's Gull (Larus belcheri)
Range: SA: w coast and islets of South America from n Peru to n Chile
Paracas, Peru
  Note Belcher's Gull has a black head part of the year (non-breeding), and although is sounds like a Laughing Gull, it is larger and has yellow legs.
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Belcher's Gull
Belcher's Gull (Larus belcheri) Immature
Range: SA: w coast and islets of South America from n Peru to n Chile
Paracas, Peru  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

In flight.

Short-billed Gull
Short-billed Gull (Larus brachyrhynchus)
Range: NA: w, n Alaska mainland s to Vancouver I. (sw British Columbia), and nw Canada e to nw Alberta
California, United States  
   
Photograph by Alan Schmierer   Image has been placed in the Public Domain.

A medium-sized gull nesting in northwest North America, split from the Eurasian Mew (Common) Gull.

Caspian Gull
Caspian Gull (Larus cachinnans) Immature
Range: PAL: inland s Poland and Hungary e through Black, Caspian and Aral seas to e Kazakhstan
British Isles,  
 
Photograph by Stephen G. Davis   © All Rights Reserved.

A large gull similar to the Herring Gull (including size), but note yellow legs.

California Gull
California Gull (Larus californicus)
Range: NA: c Northwest Territories to c Manitoba (c Canada) to ne South Dakota; e Washington to Montana and s to Colorado and c California
San Diego, California, United States  
   
Photograph by Andy Reago     Copyright and usage info

Similar to Ring-billed Gull but slightly larger, longer thinner bill, small head, and dark eyes (HBW).

Common Gull
Common Gull (Larus canus)
Range: NA, PAL: Iceland and nw, c Europe to Kamchatka (e Siberia)
Cabrillo Beach Park, San Pedro, California, United States  
 
Photograph by Matt Grube   © All Rights Reserved.


Black-tailed Gull
Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris)
Range: PAL: coasts and islets of e Siberia, Sakhalin and Kuril Is. (se Russia), Hokkaido and Honshu (n, c Japan), Korean Pen., e China and Matsu Is. (=Lienchiang County; w of Taiwan)
California, USA  
 
Photograph by Vic Murayama     Copyright and usage info


Ring-billed Gull
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)
Range: NA: inland e British Columbia to s Northwest Territories, s James Bay to Labrador and Newfoundland (c, s Canada), Pacific Northwest states and Great Lakes (n contiguous USA)
John Lloyd State Park, Florida, USA  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Ring-billed Gull
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) Immature
Range: NA: inland e British Columbia to s Northwest Territories, s James Bay to Labrador and Newfoundland (c, s Canada), Pacific Northwest states and Great Lakes (n contiguous USA)
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Mid-sized gull. Note light colored eye in mature adult.

Kelp Gull
Kelp Gull (Larus dominicanus dominicanus)
Range: SA, AU, AF: coasts of s continents and is., mostly temperate to Antarctic waters
Paracas, Peru  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Kelp Gull
Kelp Gull (Larus dominicanus) Immature
Range: SA, AU, AF: coasts of s continents and is., mostly temperate to Antarctic waters
Punta del Este, Uruguay  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.


Lesser Black-backed Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus graellsii)
Range: PAL: Greenland, Iceland, w Europe to nc Siberia
Ebro Delta, Spain  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Lesser Black-backed Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus) Immature
Range: PAL: Greenland, Iceland, w Europe to nc Siberia
Key Biscayne, Florida, United States  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

A large gull with a dark grey back and (in adult) note red orbital ring (skin around eye).

Glaucous-winged Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens)
Range: PAL, NA: coastal North Pacific in e Siberia, Kamchatka, Kuril and Commander is. (e Russia); Aleutian and Pribilof is., sw Alaska mainland to n Washington
Morro Bay, California, United States  
   
Photograph by Alan Schmierer   Image has been placed in the Public Domain.

Glaucous-winged Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens) Immature
Range: PAL, NA: coastal North Pacific in e Siberia, Kamchatka, Kuril and Commander is. (e Russia); Aleutian and Pribilof is., sw Alaska mainland to n Washington
South Korea  
   
Photograph by Stephen G. Davis   © All Rights Reserved.

A large gull with a white back and glaucous colored wings. Note, like many gulls, immature is brown.

Iceland Gull
Iceland Gull (Larus glaucoides)
Range: NA, PAL: Arctic ne Canada to Greenland
Ireland  
   
Photograph by Crotach on Flickr   © All Rights Reserved.

Note pink legs. A medium-sized gull with light colors and red orbital ring (around eye).

Heermann's Gull
Heermann's Gull (Larus heermanni) Near Threatened
Range: NA, MA: I. Rasa (n Gulf of California; 90-95%); sporadic breeding on islets from Seaside (c California) and Baja California to Nayarit (w Mexico)
San Diego County, California, United States  
   
Photograph by Mick Thompson/Eastside Audubon     Copyright and usage info

Easy to identify by grey or dark grey color. Immatures are brown.

Glaucous Gull
Glaucous Gull (Larus hyperboreus)
Range: PAL, NA: circumpolar Arctic coasts
England  
   
Photograph by Dave Curtis     Copyright and usage info

Glaucous Gull
Glaucous Gull (Larus hyperboreus) Immature
Range: PAL, NA: circumpolar Arctic coasts
Dana Point, California, United States
  For immature, note the pink bill with black tip.
   
Photograph by Tom Benson     Copyright and usage info

A large gull. Unlike many gulls, juvenile is also light-colored (to buff but not brown). Note pinkish legs and glaucous color.

Yellow-footed Gull
Yellow-footed Gull (Larus livens)
Range: NA, MA: islets in Gulf of California, from Roca Consag to La Paz Bay
La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico  
   
Photograph by Nigel Voaden   © All Rights Reserved.

A large dark-backed gull with yellow legs. Other similar gulls are rare in the range of this species, where it is most similar to Western Gull, but note pink legs.

Great Black-backed Gull
Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus)
Range: NA, PAL: North Atlantic coasts, from sw, se Greenland, Iceland to nw Europe, Svalbard (n of Norway) and Baltic states (nw Russia); coastal and inland ne Canada to Great Lakes (scarce) and coasts to New Jersey
Fort Pierce, Florida, USA
  Large size and pink legs a good ID feature.
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.


Yellow-legged Gull
Yellow-legged Gull (Larus michahellis atlantis)
Range: PAL: coastal and inland s, w, c Europe, Macaronesia, Mediterranean and nw Africa
Medeira  
 
Photograph by Allan Hopkins     Copyright and usage info

Yellow-legged Gull
Yellow-legged Gull (Larus michahellis michahellis)
Range: PAL: coastal and inland s, w, c Europe, Macaronesia, Mediterranean and nw Africa
Ebro Delta, Spain  
 
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

A large gull with yellow legs similar to the Herring Gull. According to HBW, 10% of the Yellow-legged Gulls in Spain have pink legs. Immatures also have pink legs.

Western Gull
Western Gull (Larus occidentalis wymani)
Range: NA, MA: w North Pacific coast from nw Washington to I. Guadelupe and c Baja California (nw Mexico)
La Jolla, California, United States  
   
Photograph by Mick Thompson/Eastside Audubon     Copyright and usage info

A large dark-backed gull found along the west coast of north and Central America.

Pacific Gull
Pacific Gull (Larus pacificus)
Range: AU: coasts of sw to se Australia and Tasmania
Bruny Island, Tasmania, Australia  
 
Photograph by JJ Harrison     Copyright and usage info

Pacific Gull
Pacific Gull (Larus pacificus) Immature
Range: AU: coasts of sw to se Australia and Tasmania
Kangaroo Island, Australia  
 
Photograph by Graham Winterflood     Copyright and usage info


Slaty-backed Gull
Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus)
Range: PAL: coasts and lakes of ne Siberia s of Anadyr, Kamchatka, Sea of Okhotsk, Sakhalin, Kuril Is. (e Russia), ne China, and Hokkaido and n Honshu (n Japan)
 
   
Photograph by Hiyashi Haka (Kevin Lin)     Copyright and usage info


American Herring Gull
American Herring Gull (Larus smithsonianus)
Range: NA: n, w Alaska and n Yukon across subarctic Canada to Baffin I. and Newfoundland, s on e North Pacific coast to sc British Columbia; e to Great Lakes, inland ne USA and w North Atlantic coast s to North Carolina
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.


Vega Gull
Vega Gull (Larus vegae)
Range: PAL: inland sc Russia, Mongolia, Heilongjiang (ne China) and w Korean Pen.; coastal Arctic c, e Siberia to n Bering Sea
South Korea  
 
Photograph by Stephen G. Davis   © All Rights Reserved.



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