European birds    Bird names   News   Family groups 1-26    Glossary    Plumage    Tips    Thumbnails    Gen. info    Credits    Photos for sale   
NON-PASSERINES     1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10     11     12     13     14 15     16     17     18     19     20     21     22     23     24     25     26     PASSERINES
Common names sorted alphabetically: A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O   P   Q   R   S   T   V   W   Y  

10

Common Gull

(Larus canus)
Alternate name(s): Race "heinei": "Russian Common Gull";
race "kamtschatschensis": "Kamchatka Gull";
race "brachyrhynchus": "Mew Gull", "Short-billed Gull"
German name(s): "Sturmmöwe"

Size: 40-46 cm; wing span 100-125 cm
Weight: Race "canus": 290-480 g
race "heinei": 315-550 g
race "kamtschatschensis": 395-585 g
race "brachyrhynchus": 320-550 g

Similar
species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description

Click here for a physical description

Taxonomy, classification

See Common Gull at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species

Click here for information on habitat and range

Sightings

Click here for sighting information

Photos

Race "canus"

ADULT

Sex unknown

BREEDING

Frontal view of a Common Gull in breeding plumage; note the thin red eye-ring that is not mentioned in all field guides
(photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Bergen, Norway, May 2016]

Near-lateral view of a Common Gull in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Naturschutzgebiet Wallnau/Fehmarn, Fehmarn, Germany, June 2018]

Lateral view of a Common Gull in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Bergen, Norway, May 2016]

Lateral view of a Common Gull in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Skjervoy, near Tromso, Norway, June 2018]

Lateral view of a Common Gull in breeding plumage in flight (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Skjervoy, near Tromso, Norway, June 2018]

Near-dorsal view of a Common Gull in breeding plumage in flight (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Bergen, Norway, May 2016]

Near-dorsal view of a Common Gull in breeding plumage in flight, now seen issuing its call (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Bergen, Norway, May 2016]

Direct comparison between a Common Gull, back and a Common Tern in breeding plumage, front
(photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Naturschutzgebiet Wallnau/Fehmarn, Fehmarn, Germany, June 2018]

Mixed flock of Common Gulls and European Herring Gulls, both in breeding plumage, feeding off the northern Norwegian coast (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Skjervoy, near Tromso, Norway, in June 2018]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Near-frontal view of a second calendar-year Common Gull (photo courtesy of G. Pinelas)
[Dafundo, Oeiras, Lisbon, Portugal, December 2017]

Near-lateral view of a second calendar-year Common Gull (photo courtesy of G. Pinelas)
[Dafundo, Oeiras, Lisbon, Portugal, December 2017]

Lateral view of a second calendar-year Common Gull (photo courtesy of G. Pinelas)
[Dafundo, Oeiras, Lisbon, Portugal, December 2017]

Lateral view of a second calendar-year Common Gull (photo courtesy of G. Pinelas)
[Dafundo, Oeiras, Lisbon, Portugal, December 2017]

Lateral view of a second calendar-year Common Gull (photo courtesy of G. Pinelas)
[Dafundo, Oeiras, Lisbon, Portugal, December 2017]

Near-dorsal view of a 1-year old Common Gull (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Skjervoy, near Tromso, Norway, June 2018]

Lateral view of a first-winter Common Gull behind a Black-headed Gull in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Almada, Setubal, Portugal, January 2023]

Close-up lateral view of a precocial Common Gull chick (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Tromso airport, Tromso, Norway, in June 2018]

Food, Diet

Like all gulls, Common Gulls are opportunistic. They will feed on anything from carrion and discarded entrails to fish, chicks of other bird species and eggs.

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site?
If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.