Lesser Black-backed Gull

The Lesser Black-backed Gull is a medium-large gull native to Europe, closely related to the Herring Gull but readily separated by its darker upperparts and yellow (rather than pink) legs.

Adults have a dark slate-gray to blackish mantle and upperwings — darker than Herring Gull but generally somewhat paler than the very dark Great Black-backed Gull, depending on subspecies — with a white head and body, and a yellow bill marked with a red spot near the tip. The legs are a distinctive bright yellow, a useful field mark shared with few other large gulls in its range.

Key field marks

• Dark slate-gray to blackish mantle and upperwings
• Bright yellow legs (a key distinction from pink-legged Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls)
• Yellow bill with a red spot near the tip
• Medium-large size, between Herring and Great Black-backed Gull

Similar species

• Herring Gull: paler gray mantle and pink legs.
• Great Black-backed Gull: larger, with pink legs and, in most comparisons, an even darker mantle.
• Yellow legs combined with a dark mantle are the quickest way to separate this species from the other common large gulls within its range.

Habitat

Lesser Black-backed Gulls use coastlines, estuaries, large lakes, and landfills, and have become increasingly common in inland and urban settings in parts of their range.

Range and migration

They breed across northern and western Europe, including the British Isles, Scandinavia, and Iceland. In recent decades the species has become an increasingly regular winter visitor to eastern North America, with numbers rising substantially since the late twentieth century, likely aided by the availability of food at landfills.

Behavior

Lesser Black-backed Gulls are adaptable and opportunistic, often gathering at landfills, fishing harbors, and agricultural fields, and readily mix with flocks of Herring Gulls and other large gulls in winter.

Voice

Calls include a deep, laughing "kyow" series, similar in structure to Herring Gull but generally somewhat deeper and more nasal.

Feeding

Their diet is broad and opportunistic, including fish, invertebrates, eggs and chicks of other birds, carrion, and human refuse at landfills and fishing operations.

Nesting and breeding

They nest colonially, often alongside Herring Gulls, on coastal cliffs, dunes, and offshore islands; both parents share incubation of the typically three-egg clutch and cooperate in feeding and defending the semi-precocial chicks.