Gull Totally Explained

Everything about Seagulls totally explained

Gulls (often informally Seagulls) are birds in the family Laridae. They are most closely related to the terns (family Sternidae) and only distantly related to auks, and skimmers, and more distantly to the waders. Most gulls belong to the large genus Larus.
   They are typically medium to large birds, usually grey or white, often with black markings on the head or wings. They have stout, longish bills, and webbed feet. Gull species range in size from the Little Gull, at 120 g (4.2 oz) and 29 cm (11.5 inches), to the Great Black-backed Gull, at 1.75 kg (3.8 lbs) and 76 cm (30 inches).
   Most gulls, particularly Larus species, are ground nesting carnivores, which will take live food or scavenge opportunistically. The live food often includes crabs and small fish. Apart from the kittiwakes, gulls are typically coastal or inland species, rarely venturing far out to sea. The large species take up to four years to attain full adult plumage, but two years is typical for small gulls.
   Gulls — the larger species in particular — are resourceful and highly-intelligent birds, demonstrating complex methods of communication and a highly-developed social structure; for example, many gull colonies display mobbing behaviour, attacking and harassing would-be predators and other intruders. In addition, certain species (for example the Herring Gull) have exhibited tool use behaviour. Many species of gull have learned to co-exist successfully with humans and have thrived in human habitats. Others rely on kleptoparasitism to get their food.
   Two terms are in common usage among gull enthusiasts for subgroupings of the gulls:

Large white-headed gulls for the 16 Herring Gull-like species from Great Black-backed Gull to Lesser Black-backed Gull in the taxonomic list below
White-winged gulls for the two Arctic-breeding species Iceland Gull and Glaucous Gull

Hybridisation between species of gull occurs quite frequently, although to varying degrees depending on the species involved (see Hybridisation in gulls). The taxonomy of the large white-headed gulls is particularly complicated.
In common usage, members of various gull species are often referred to as sea gulls or seagulls. This name is used by the layman to refer to a common local species or all gulls in general, and has no fixed taxonomic meaning.
The American Ornithologists' Union combines Sternidae, Stercorariidae, and Rhynchopidae as subfamilies in the family Laridae, but recent research indicates that this is incorrect.

List of gulls in taxonomic order

Genus Larus
Dolphin Gull, Larus scoresbii
Pacific Gull, Larus pacificus
Belcher's Gull, Larus belcheri
Olrog's Gull, Larus atlanticus
Black-tailed Gull, Larus crassirostris
Grey Gull, Larus modestus
Heermann's Gull, Larus heermanni
White-eyed Gull, Larus leucophthalmus
Sooty Gull, Larus hemprichii
Common Gull or Mew Gull, Larus canus
Audouin's Gull, Larus audouinii
Ring-billed Gull, Larus delawarensis
California Gull, Larus californicus
Great Black-backed Gull, Larus marinus
Kelp Gull, Larus dominicanus (called "Southern Black-backed Gull" or "Karoro" in New Zealand)
Glaucous-winged Gull, Larus glaucescens
Western Gull, Larus occidentalis
Yellow-footed Gull, Larus livens
Glaucous Gull, Larus hyperboreus
Iceland Gull, Larus glaucoides
Thayer's Gull, Larus thayeri
Herring Gull, Larus argentatus
Heuglin's Gull, Larus heuglini
American Herring Gull, Larus smithsonianus
Yellow-legged Gull, Larus michahellis
Caspian Gull, Larus cachinnans
East Siberian Herring Gull, Larus vegae
Armenian Gull, Larus armenicus
Slaty-backed Gull, Larus schistisagus
Lesser Black-backed Gull, Larus fuscus
Great Black-headed Gull, Larus ichthyaetus
Brown-headed Gull, Larus brunnicephalus
Grey-headed Gull, Larus cirrocephalus
Hartlaub's Gull, Larus hartlaubii
Silver Gull, Larus novaehollandiae
Red-billed Gull, Larus scopulinus
Black-billed Gull, Larus bulleri
Brown-hooded Gull, Larus maculipennis
Black-headed Gull, Larus ridibundus
Slender-billed Gull, Larus genei
Bonaparte's Gull, Larus philadelphia
Saunders' Gull, Larus saundersi
Andean Gull, Larus serranus
Mediterranean Gull, Larus melanocephalus
Relict Gull, Larus relictus
Lava Gull, Larus fuliginosus
Laughing Gull, Larus atricilla
Franklin's Gull, Larus pipixcan
Little Gull, Larus minutus Genus Rissa
Black-legged Kittiwake, Rissa tridactyla
Red-legged Kittiwake, Rissa brevirostris Genus Pagophila
Ivory Gull, Pagophila eburnea Genus Rhodostethia
Ross's Gull, Rhodostethia rosea Genus Xema
Sabine's Gull, Xema sabini Genus Creagrus
Swallow-tailed Gull, Creagrus furcatus The Laridae are known from fossil evidence since the Early Oligocene, some 30-33 mya. A fossil gull from the Middle to Late Miocene of Cherry County, USA is placed in the prehistoric genus Gaviota; apart from this and the undescribed Early Oligocene fossil, all prehistoric species were tentatively assigned to the modern genus Larus. Among those of them that have been confirmed as gulls, "Larus" elegans and "L." totanoides from the Late Oligocene/Early Miocene of SE France have since been separated in Laricola.
Gallery
Image:Seagull dropping clam.jpg|Seagull dropping clam. Image:Flock of gulls - various species.jpg|An assorted flock of Gulls Image:Goeland adulte et juvénile.jpg|Lesser Black-backed Gull - Adult gull and her chick Image:Gull ca usa.jpg|Western Gull in Monterey, United States Image:Baby_gull.jpg|Gull chick at Trondheim, Norway Image:Larus ridibundus.jpg|A Black-headed Gull in Devon, England Image:Creagrus furcatus.JPG|The Swallow-tailed Gull, endemic inhabitant of the Galápagos Islands. Image:Creagrus furcatus flight.jpg|Swallow-tailed Gull in flight, showing wing patterns. Image:herring.gull.northdevon.arp.750pix.jpg|Herring Gull on the North Devon coast, England Image:Seagull on sale pier.jpg|Silver Gull at Sale, Australia Image:Chesapeake Bay gulls soaring.jpg|Ring-billed Gulls at Chesapeake Bay Image:Larus-delawarensis-021.jpg|Ring-billed Gull at Toronto, Ontario, Canada Image:peserina2.jpg|Dolphin Gull at Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego Image:Seagull_lakes_entrance.jpg|A Silver Gull, Lakes Entrance Image:Gulls in air13.jpg|Black-tailed Gulls feeding in flight Image:Heermann's Gull breeding adult.jpg|Heermann's Gulls have all over greyish plumage with a white head during the breeding season. Image:Lava gull.jpg|Lava Gull at Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos Image:Oeufs goeland argenté.jpg|Herring Gull eggs Image:Larus smithsonianus-USFWS.jpg|American Herring Gull on its nest Image:Seagull_1.jpg Image:Seagull_3.jpg Further Information
Get more info on 'Seagulls'.

External Link Exchanges

Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://gull.totallyexplained.com">Gull Totally Explained</a>

Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned.