- Larus canus
AKA Common Gull
Identification
Adult Common Gulls are grey above and white below. Their legs are greenish. They have black wing-tips with large white "mirrors", particularly in American birds. Young birds have scaly black-brown upperparts and a neat wing pattern. They take three years to reach maturity. The call is a high-pitched "laughing" cry
Distribution
The Mew Gull , Larus canus is a medium-sized gull which breeds in the northwest of North America, Europe and Asia (where it is called Common Gull). It migrates further south in winter.
Taxonomy
Please notice that the once-split subspecies brachyrhynchus (the new world form) has now again been lumped with Larus canus. The common name Mew Gull is recommended by all the major taxonomic authorities for the merged species, even though this species continues to be known as Common Gull in Europe. The only world-wide authotiry to recognize the split of Mew Gull from Common Gull was the 1996 installment of Sibley and Monroe.
This species is subdivided into four subspecies: canus is the form familiar to people in Britain and Europe; heinei is breeding in Russia and large parts of Siberia; kamptschatschensis in north-eastern Siberia; and brachyrhynchus in Alaska and western Canada (this form has also been called Short-billed Gull).
Habitat
This species breeds colonially near water or in marshes, making a lined nest on the ground or in a tree.
Behaviour
Like most Larus gulls, they are omnivores and will scavenge as well as hunt small prey.
Bird Song
<flashmp3>Larus canus (song).mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program
