Lesser Black-backed Gull

Adult L.f. graelsii
Photo © by Andy Bright
England, UK, 25 April 2002

Includes Heuglin's Gull

Larus fuscus

Identification

Adult: The Lesser Black-backed Gull is a large white-headed gull which comes into contact with similar species across its range. Nominate L. f. fuscus or Baltic Gull is long-winged with a black mantle and yellow legs in adult plumage differentiating it from similar Herring Gulls (mantle colour, leg colour & wing-length) and Great Black-backed Gulls (leg colour & build).

L. f. heuglini
Photo © by Colin Murray
Hilf, Masirah, Oman, 14 January 2005

L. f. intermedius is less elegant, having shorter, broader wings than nominate but longer than L. f. graelsii. L. f. graelsii, the subspecies of North-western Europe has a build closer to Herring Gull or Yellow-legged Gull rather than Baltic Gull. It is told from these by its slate grey back, darker than both.

Younger birds: Lesser Black-backed Gull takes four years to reach full adult plumage, starting with a dark and heavily patterned brown and gradually attaining adult characteristics.

Distribution

A common and widespread gull in the north of the region. Breeds in Iceland, the Faroes and British Isles, in Portugal and north-west Spain and from Brittany to Denmark, coastal Norway and Sweden, inland in Finland and north-west Russia and also on the coast of northern Russia.

Northern and eastern populations are migratory with winter range extending from Britain south to North-West Africa and throughout the Mediterranean.

Occurs on passage over much of Central and Western Europe.

Vagrant north to Svalbard and Bear Island and south to the Azores and Armenia.

Adult and juvenile, L. f. heuglini, taking-off, followed by Black-headed Gulls
Photo © by Alok Tewari
Dwarka, Coastal Gujarat, India, 27 December 2010

Taxonomy

The Lesser Black-backed Gull is part of a gull clade called the large white-headed gulls. This includes Yellow-legged Gull, Herring Gull and several other species. The taxonomy of this group is currently being radically remodelled with many species being split. A taxon here included under Lesser Black-backed Gull may be candidate for full species in due course: L. heuglini. L. f. barabensis formerly considered a race of Caspian Gull now included here.

Subspecies

Five subspecies are currently recognized^[1]:

• L. f. fuscus: Dark-mantled

• North Norway, Sweden, Finland to White Sea; winters to Africa, south-western Asia

• L. f. intermedius:

• Denmark to western Norway, locally south to north-eastern Spain; winters to western Africa

• L. f. graellsii: Larger and paler-mantled

• Iceland, Faeroes, British Isles, France, Portugal; winters to western Africa

• L. f. heuglini:

• North-western Russia; winters to Middle East, South Africa and south-eastern Asia

Dark adult in flight, possibly L. f. fuscus
Photo © by Avi Meir
Eilat, Israel, 15 March 2008

• L. f. barabensis: formerly considered a race of Caspian Gull, sometimes treated as separate species.

• Steppes of central Asia, winters in southwest Asia and western India

Habitat

Quite catholic in its choice of habitats, perhaps less so than Herring Gulls, Lesser Black-backed Gulls are commonly found nesting on rooftops in coastal towns and cities as well as more traditional areas such as rocky islands and grass-covered tops of mainland cliffs.

In winter these birds can be found amongst mixed species gull flocks both on the coast and inland, often frequenting landfill sites. On passage these birds can occur anywhere.

Behaviour

Diet

Juvenile, probably L. f. graellsii
Photo © by mustap
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, 23 September, 2011

Lesser Black-backed Gulls are opportunist feeders, eating anything they can digest and utilising transient food sources. They often use landfills for scavanging during the winter but they will take live prey given the opportunity. This includes molluscs, worms and crustaceans. Like other closely related species, Lesser Black-backed Gulls are omnivorous.

Vocalisation

<flashmp3>Larus fuscus (song).mp3</flashmp3>
Listen to Lesser Black-backed Gull voice clip

Gallery

Click on photo for larger image

• 

  Adult L. f. barabensis
  Photo © by AJDH
  Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia 24 March 2006

• 

  L. f. barabensis,
  Photo © by Alok Tewari
  Jamnagar, Gujrat, India, 20 January 2016

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Burger, J., Gochfeld, M., Kirwan, G.M., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (2018). Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/53986 on 25 September 2018).
3. Collinson, J.M., Parkin, D.T., Knox, A.G., Sangster, G. & Svensson, L. (2008) Species boundaries in the Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gull complex. Brit. Birds 101(7): 340–363.
4. Howell, S.N.G. & Dunn, J.L. (2007) Gulls of the Americas. Houghton Mifflin, Boston.
5. Malling Olsen, K. & Larsson, H. (2003) Gulls of Europe, Asia and North America. Christopher Helm, London.
6. BirdForum Member observations

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Lesser Black-backed Gull. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 25 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Lesser_Black-backed_Gull

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