Great Black-backed Gull - Photos by Bruce Dayton - Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus)

ORDER: Charadriiformes
FAMILY: Laridae (Gulls and Terns - 49 Species)
SUB-FAMILY: Larinae
SPECIES: Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus)

Great Black-backed Gull
Because of their size and aggressiveness, the Great Black-backed Gull poses a real threat to seabird chicks of all species, it can also kill and eat adult birds as big as an American Coot.
SIZE	The Great Black-backed Gull is the largest (28-32") and heaviest gull in the world.
DESCRIPTION	The adult gulls are white with slate-black backs and wings with the tips of the wings white. The legs are pinkish, and the bills are yellow with a red dot near the tip of the lower mandible. Sexes are similar in plumage, but the male are larger than females.
NESTING	Clutch size ranges from 2-5 eggs, which are incubated in 24 to 28 days. They make a lined nest on the ground often on top of a stack of rocks.
RANGE	They are common throughout their range along the east coast of North America as far south as North Carolina. They winters along the east coast from Newfoundland south to central Florida and inland at large lakes and rivers throughout Northeast.
HABITAT	They habitat Coastal islands, salt marshes, freshwater lakes and moorland near coasts.
DIET	The Great Black-backed Gulls are opportunistic feeders. Their diet includes fish, mammals, marine and intertidal invertebrates, small insects and eggs. This species will regularly scavenge food at garbage dumps, fish-cleaning stations and other locations where food may be found.

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The images on this web page are copyrighted © 2003 - 2007 by Bruce Dayton. I want to share my photos to promote conservation and to help people identify and learn about the birds and other creatures that live with us on the North American continent. Please do not use any of my work in any non-profit or for-profit project without first getting written permission from me. You can ask for permission by emailing me at webmaster@wildlifeofnorthamerica.info. All reproductions must bear an appropriate credit.




Greater Black-backed Gull

Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge Seneca County, New York


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House Wren Drawing by Louis Agassiz Fuertes