Great Black-backed Gull
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Great Black-backed Gull | ||||||||||||||
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| Larus marinus Linnaeus, 1758, Gotland, Sweden |
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 Distribution across the Northern Hemisphere
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The Great Black-backed Gull, Larus marinus, is a very large gull which breeds on the European and North American coasts and islands of the North Atlantic. It is fairly sedentary, but some Great Black-backed Gulls move further south or inland to large lakes or reservoirs.
The Great Black-backed Gull was one of the many species originally described by Linnaeus in his 18th century work, Systema Naturae, and it still bears its original name of Larus marinus.[1]
This is the largest gull, much bigger than a Herring Gull and is often described as the King of Gulls.[2] It is 61-74 cm (24-28 in) long with a 1.4-1.7 m wingspan, the large adult males often weighing in at more than 2 kilogrammes. It is bulky, and has a powerful bill. The adults have black wings and back, with conspicuous white "mirrors" at the wing tips. The legs are pinkish, and the bill yellow with a red spot.
Young birds have scaly black-brown upperparts, and a neat wing pattern. They take at least four years to reach maturity, development in this species being somewhat slower than that of other large gulls. The call is a deep "laughing" cry.
Unlike most Larus gulls, Great Black-backed Gulls are mostly carnivorous and frequently hunt and kill any prey smaller than themselves, behaving more like a raptor than a typical larid gull, though they will also scavenge. They frequently rob other seabirds of their catch. They can swallow a puffin or a small wild duck whole.
This species breeds singly or in small colonies, making a lined nest on the ground often on top of a rocky stack. 3-5 eggs are laid.
[edit] Gallery
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 Great Black-backed Gull attacking a Coot |
 Great Black-backed Gulls displaying |
 Juvenile Great Black-backed Gulls |
 Great Black-backed Gull nest and eggs |
[edit] References
- ^ (Latin) Linnaeus, C (1758). Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata.. Holmiae. (Laurentii Salvii)..
- ^ UK Bird Holidays Guide: Oman http://www.birdholidays.co.uk/oman%202008.htm
- BirdLife International (2004). Larus marinus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 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 by Peter Harrison, 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
- Malling Olsen, Klaus and Hans Larsson, Gulls of Europe, Asia and North America ISBN 0-7136-7087-8
