Little Gull
[order] CHARADRIIFORMES | [family] Laridae | [latin] Larus minutus | [UK] Little Gull | [FR] Mouette pygmee | [DE] Zwergmowe | [ES] Gaviota Enana | [NL] Dwergmeeuw
Subspecies
| Genus | Species | subspecies | Breeding Range | Breeding Range 2 | Non Breeding Range |
| Rhodostethia | minutus | ||||
| Hydrocoloeus | minutus | EU, NA | c | e NA, w Europe |
Physical charateristics
The smallest of the gulls, the Little Gull has a short, narrow bill, red legs, and a short tail. In breeding plumage, the adult has a dark hood with a black eye and bill. Non-breeding plumage is similar, but the head is white, smudged with black, with a black ear-spot behind the eye. The body coloration is typical of gull plumage from above, but both breeding and non-breeding adults have dark underwings with pale wingtips, which are distinctive in flight. Juveniles are mottled dark brown, mixed with varying degrees of adult plumage characteristics. In flight, juveniles have a dark ‘W’ across the underwing.
Lone Little Gulls are often found amidst flocks of Bonaparte’s Gulls and terns. They often forage in flight, flying slowly low over the water and dropping down to pluck items from the surface. They also land on the water and feed from a swimming or wading position
Lone Little Gulls are often found amidst flocks of Bonaparte’s Gulls and terns. They often forage in flight, flying slowly low over the water and dropping down to pluck items from the surface. They also land on the water and feed from a swimming or wading position
Listen to the sound of Little Gull
[audio:http://www.aviflevoland.nl/sounddb/L/Little Gull.mp3]
Copyright remark: Most sounds derived from xeno-canto
| wingspan min.: | 58 | cm | wingspan max.: | 62 | cm |
| size min.: | 25 | cm | size max.: | 28 | cm |
| incubation min.: | 23 | days | incubation max.: | 25 | days |
| fledging min.: | 21 | days | fledging max.: | 25 | days |
| broods: | 1 | eggs min.: | 2 | ||
| eggs max.: | 3 |
Range
Eurasia, North America : Central
Habitat
Breeding habitat is mostly inland around low-lying marshy areas near lakes. Winter habitat is along coasts in protected shallow estuaries, mudflats, and beaches, and nearby fresh water lakes.
Reproduction
A primarily Eurasian species, where they breed in colonies, Little Gulls in North America usually nest in small colonies or isolated pairs. Nests are on the ground, near water. Both sexes help build a nest of grass, weeds, and leaves with a shallow depression in the middle. Both help incubate the 2 to 3 eggs for about 3 and a half weeks. Both parents help tend the young, which leave the nest shortly after hatching, but stay close by. Three to four weeks later, they fledge.
Feeding habits
In the summer, small insects make up the majority of the diet. Small crustaceans, mollusks, small fish, and other aquatic creatures round out the diet the rest of the year.
Conservation
This species has a large range, with an estimated global Extent of Occurrence of 1,000,000-10,000,000 km2. It has a large global population estimated to be 570,000-1,700,000 individuals (Wetlands International 2002). Global population trends have not been quantified, but the species is not believed to approach the thresholds for the population decline criterion of the IUCN Red List (i.e. declining more than 30% in ten years or three generations). For these reasons, the species is evaluated as Least Concern.
Larus minutus breeds mainly in north-east Europe, which accounts for less than half
of its global breeding range. Its European breeding population is relatively small
(<58,000 pairs), and underwent a moderate decline between 1970-1990. Although the species increased markedly overall during 1990-2000-with stable, fluctuating or increasing trends across the vast majority of its European range-its population has probably not yet recovered to the level that preceded its decline.
How the Little Gull ended up in North America is unknown. Some argue that it has always occurred here in small numbers. Others claim that it colonized by way of the Bering Sea. A third theory is that Little Gulls came across the Atlantic. The first known record of a Little Gull in North America is from 1820, and the first nesting record is from 1962. As of 1999, there had been only 67 confirmed or probable nesting reports documented in North America. Most of these were in wetlands in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River regions. The first appearance in Washington was in the fall of 1974. It has now been recorded up and down the West Coast throughout the year. The nesting population in North America may not be self-sustaining, and is supplemented by an influx of European vagrants.
Larus minutus breeds mainly in north-east Europe, which accounts for less than half
of its global breeding range. Its European breeding population is relatively small
(<58,000 pairs), and underwent a moderate decline between 1970-1990. Although the species increased markedly overall during 1990-2000-with stable, fluctuating or increasing trends across the vast majority of its European range-its population has probably not yet recovered to the level that preceded its decline.
How the Little Gull ended up in North America is unknown. Some argue that it has always occurred here in small numbers. Others claim that it colonized by way of the Bering Sea. A third theory is that Little Gulls came across the Atlantic. The first known record of a Little Gull in North America is from 1820, and the first nesting record is from 1962. As of 1999, there had been only 67 confirmed or probable nesting reports documented in North America. Most of these were in wetlands in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River regions. The first appearance in Washington was in the fall of 1974. It has now been recorded up and down the West Coast throughout the year. The nesting population in North America may not be self-sustaining, and is supplemented by an influx of European vagrants.
Migration
Migratory, but details of movements and even of wintering areas inadequately known. Not scarce inland on passage, but winters essentially offshore (though not truly pelagic): on western seaboard from Irish Sea and North Sea southwards, in Mediterranean, to lesser extent on Black Sea, and on southern Caspian. Occurs also on Atlantic coast of Morocco, and in small numbers on eastern coast of North America.
Distribution map
