Great Black-backed Gull
The Washington representatives of this family can be split into two groups, or subfamilies. The adaptable gulls are the most familiar. Sociable in all seasons, they are mainly coastal, but a number of species also nest inland. Many—but not all—are found around people. Gulls have highly variable foraging techniques and diets. Terns forage in flight, swooping to catch fish or insects. They dive headfirst into the water for fish. Although they are likely to be near water, they spend less time swimming than gulls.
General Description
Although variable in size, the Great Black-backed Gull is on average the largest of all gulls, with some individuals weighing more than five pounds. In adult plumage, attained in four years, it has a large head and heavy bill, yellow eye (usually), and light pink legs. Its dark gray-black mantle is darker than that of any other gull likely to be seen in Washington. However, in immature plumages this species is less easily separated from other large gulls, especially Herring Gull. Consult field guides for the fine points.
This North Atlantic native breeds from the Arctic to the Carolinas, the Great Lakes, Britain, France, and the Baltic Sea, with some southward movement in winter to the Gulf Coast, the Caribbean, and the Iberian Peninsula. In recent years small numbers of birds have been straying farther and farther westward in North America. There are now four records from the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. The first, an adult, came at Kamloops, British Columbia, in December 1988. The second was a second-winter bird at Kodiak, Alaska, in February 1995. The third was a first-winter bird found at Boise, Idaho, in December 2003. The fourth came a month later in Washington, when a second-winter bird was discovered at the mouth of the Cedar River in Renton (King County), in January 2004.
Revised June 2007
Family Members
- Laughing GullLarus atricilla
- Franklin's GullLarus pipixcan
- Little GullLarus minutus
- Black-headed GullLarus ridibundus
- Bonaparte's GullLarus philadelphia
- Heermann's GullLarus heermanni
- Black-tailed GullLarus crassirostris
- Short-billed GullLarus canus
- Ring-billed GullLarus delawarensis
- California GullLarus californicus
- Herring GullLarus argentatus
- Thayer's GullLarus thayeri
- Iceland GullLarus glaucoides
- Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscus
- Slaty-backed GullLarus schistisagus
- Western GullLarus occidentalis
- Glaucous-winged GullLarus glaucescens
- Glaucous GullLarus hyperboreus
- Great Black-backed GullLarus marinus
- Sabine's GullXema sabini
- Black-legged KittiwakeRissa tridactyla
- Red-legged KittiwakeRissa brevirostris
- Ross's GullRhodostethia rosea
- Ivory GullPagophila eburnea
- Least TernSternula antillarum
- Caspian TernHydroprogne caspia
- Black TernChlidonias niger
- Common TernSterna hirundo
- Arctic TernSterna paradisaea
- Forster's TernSterna forsteri
- Elegant TernThalasseus elegans