Common Gull

Larus canus

© 2025
Share   
0 recent observations

Brief #

Grey above and white below. The legs are yellow in breeding season.

Synonyms #

  • Gaviota cana (Spanish)
  • Gaivota cana (Galician)

Red List Status #

The Common Gull is unlikely to become extinct in the near future.
Find out more about IUCN's Red List program here

Description #

The body is grey above and white below. The legs are yellow in breeding season, becoming duller in the winter. In winter, the head is streaked grey and the bill often has a poorly defined blackish band near the tip, which is sometimes sufficiently obvious to cause confusion with ring-billed gull. They have black wingtips with large white "mirrors" on the outer primaries p9 and p10, which are smaller than those in the short-billed gull. Young birds have scaly black-brown upperparts and a neat wing pattern, and pink legs which become greyish in the second year before tuning yellow. By the first winter, the head and belly are white, with fine streaks and greyish feathers grow on the saddle.

Measurements #

Length: 40 - 46 cm
Wingspan: 1.1 - 1.3 m
Weight: 300 - 480 g

Similar species #