Great black-backed gull

"King of gulls" redirects here. For the small gull which is a non-migratory breeding resident endemic to the Atlantic Ocean coastline of South Africa and Namibia, see King gull.

Great black-backed gull
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Laridae
Genus: Larus
Species:
L. marinus
Binomial name
Larus marinus
Distribution across the Northern Hemisphere.
  Breeding range
  Year-round range
  Wintering range

The great black-backed gull (Larus marinus) is the largest member of the gull family. Described by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology as "the king of the Atlantic waterfront",[2] it is a very aggressive hunter, pirate, and scavenger. It breeds on the European and North American coasts and islands of the North Atlantic and is fairly sedentary, though some move farther south or inland to large lakes and reservoirs. The adult great black-backed gull has a white head, neck and underparts, dark grey wings and back, pink legs and yellow bill.

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2018). "Larus marinus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T22694324A132342572. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22694324A132342572.en. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  2. ^ "Great Black-backed Gull Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology".