Black-tailed Gull

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;"|Black-tailed Gull

Larus crassirostris]]
Vieillot, 1818, Nagasaki, Japan

The Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris) is a medium-sized (46cm) gull, with a wingspan of 126-128 cm. The bird is resident in East Asia, including China, Japan and Korea. It is a vagrant to Alaska and northeastern North America.

It has blue legs and a red and black spot at the end of the bill. This gull takes 4 years to reach full adult plumage. As the name suggests, it has a black tail. The bird has a cat-like call, giving it its Japanese name — Umineko, "Sea cat" and Korean name — Gwaeng-yi gull, which means "cat" gull.

The Black-tailed Gull feeds mainly on small fish, molluscs, crustaceans and offal. It often follows ships and commercial fishing fleets. It does steal food from other seabirds.

It is a colonial nester, with colonies forming in mid-April. 2-3 eggs are laid by early June. Incubation lasts approximately 24 days.

A rare visitor to the United States, a black-tailed gull was spotted from Burlington, Vermont, in October of 2005. Pictures from that sighting can be seen here.

[edit] Gallery

Black tailed gull, immature plumage

[edit] References

BirdLife International (2004). Larus crassirostris. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
"National Geographic" Field Guide to the Birds of North America ISBN 0-7922-6877-6
Seabirds, an Identification Guide by Peter Harrison, (1983) ISBN 0-7470-1410-8
Handbook of the Birds of the World Vol 3, Josep del Hoyo editor, ISBN 84-87334-10-5
"National Audubon Society" The Sibley Guide to Birds, by David Allen Sibley, ISBN 0-679-45122-6