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Common Gull
last update: Apr 01, 2009 04:57 PM
Also known as the Mew Gull
Latin name: Larus canus
Population: 1.7-4.4 million individuals
Cites classified: Least Concern
Where found: Circumpolar from northern Scandinavia across Russia in the sub-Arctic and in North American throughout Alaska across the Yukon and Northwest Territories in Canada (rare in the north)
Age/ life expectancy: 18 years
Wingspan: 110-130 cm
Length: 40-42 cm
Weight: 300-550 g
Mating/Breeding: Breeding in small colonies or isolated pairs, Mew Gulls nest on high ground near water, or on top of a stump, or in a dense spruce up to 20 feet off the ground. Mew Gulls in Europe have been known to nest on gravel rooftops. When the nest is on the ground, it is a shallow scrape lined with grass. Nests built in trees are usually shallow cups of twigs and grasses. Both sexes help build the nest and incubate the 3 eggs for about 4 weeks. The young from nests built on the ground may leave the nest after a few days, but stay close by. The young in nests built in trees stay in the nest for a longer period. Both parents help feed the young, which fledge at about 4 weeks of age.
Eggs: 2-5 variable eggs ranging from white to dark brown, usually streaked or blotched olive-brown
Hibernation: migrates from northern Eurasia to the North, Mediterranean, and Black Seas, from Asia to the Black and Caspian Seas and to coastal southeast Asia, and from northern Canada and Alaska to southern Canada and northern US in winter
Hunting Habits: forages and scavenges
Feed on: invertebrates and fish, but will also take amphibians, rodents, chicks, eggs, and berries where available
Predators: gulls, foxes, and weasels
Colour/Body: The smallest North American white-headed gull, the Mew Gull is commonly described as having a 'gentle' or 'dove-headed' look. The Mew Gull has typical gull-like plumage--slate-gray back and wings, a white head, tail, and body, and black wingtips with white spots. The beak and legs are yellow. In breeding plumage, the Mew Gull has a clean white head, a dark eye, and a solid yellow bill without markings. In non-breeding plumage, its head is smudged with brown, the red eye-ring is absent, and the bill is partially dark. Juveniles are varying degrees of mottled brown interspersed with white and gray.
Subspecies: Larus canus canus: (Common Gull) Europe and western Asia, small, mantle medium grey (palest subspecies), wingtips with extensive black, iris dark; Larus canus heinei: Central northern Asia, medium size, mantle dark grey (darkest subspecies), wingtips with extensive black, iris dark; Larus canus kamtschatschensis (Kamchatka Gull) Northeastern Asia, large, mantle medium-dark grey, wingtips with extensive black, iris pale; Larus canus brachyrhynchus (Mew Gull or Short-billed Gull) Alaska and western Canada, small, mantle medium-dark grey, wingtips with little black and much white, iris pale
Interesting Trivia:
- Although the Mew Gull is a common bird along the Pacific Coast, it is a rarity in the East. Birds that appear along the Atlantic Coast are likely to be from Europe.
