Common Gull Identification
Its scientific name is 'Larus canus', from the Laridae family (order Charadriiformes)
What I look like
The Common Gull is slightly larger than a Black-headed Gull and much smaller than a Herring Gull.
It has a rounded head like a gull and a smaller, thinner beak than the Herring Gull.
Its orbital rings are red and the iris is brown to yellowish.
The head and chest are white in breeding plumage and the beak is yellow without a red spot.
The back and wings are ash grey (darker than the Herring Gull).
The wing tips are black with white mirrors (metallic-colored spots).
In winter, the head is white streaked with grey and the beak is duller with a dark band.
The beak and legs are yellowish-green.
Juveniles have a brownish upper body and a dark beak. Their head and chest are greyish-brown and have a black bar on the tail.
During the second winter, the upper body is grey with small white tips on the wings (called mirrors), but retains more black on the wing tips than adults. The tail is white.
In 3 years, the Common Gull will reach its adult plumage with larger white mirrors on the wings.
In breeding plumage, it resembles the Black-legged Kittiwake. But the latter has short, dark legs and wing tips without white and less black.
My songs, my calls
The Common Gull emits simple contact calls "ki-èèh" that resemble those of the Herring Gull.
Its alarm call is repeated and more powerful.
How I behave
The Common Gull often gathers in groups.
From October to April, they are found with gull colonies on port docks, bridges, in garden ponds… (often juveniles).
In flight, it appears more agile than the Herring Gull. Lighter, it flaps its wings more smoothly and energetically.
It mainly practices gliding flight near cliffs and often flies close to the water.
How I reproduce
The Common Gull nests in colonies or in isolation.
It nests on coasts, islands, along rivers, and lakes.
Its nest is located on the ground, near water, in rocks or dunes…
The female builds a cup lined with algae or other vegetation, where she typically lays 3 eggs.
Adults feed the chicks by placing food in their beaks. As they grow, the food is regurgitated, and they feed themselves.
What I eat
The Common Gull is omnivorous (worms, shellfish, fish, small mammals, waste).
It searches for food on coasts to find shellfish, fish...
and in meadows, parks, to find worms (behind plows turning the soil), insects, ground-nesting birds, voles, and mice.
It sometimes steals food by chasing puffins or gulls to take their catch.
Where to find me
The Common Gull is found on the coast during nesting.
Outside the nesting season, it lives on inland water bodies, cultivated lands, and sometimes landfills.
It is migratory in northern Europe. It migrates south and west in winter. Scandinavian populations come to winter in France along the coast and rivers.
It is sedentary around the coast of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea.
It can live up to 24 years.