Mew Gull

The Mew Gull, now formally recognized in North America as the Short-billed Gull, is a small, dainty gull of western Canada and Alaska. It has a rounded head, a small bill, and dark eyes that together give it a soft, gentle expression quite different from the more piercing gaze of larger gulls.

Adults show a clean pale gray mantle, white head and underparts, unmarked yellow-green bill, and yellow-green legs. Wingtips are black with white spots. In winter, the head becomes lightly streaked with gray-brown. Juveniles are mottled brown, gradually attaining adult plumage over two to three years.

Until a 2021 taxonomic revision, this species was considered part of the same species as the Eurasian Common Gull; the two are now treated as separate species that replace one another geographically.

Key field marks

• Small size, rounded head, and gentle, dark-eyed expression
• Small, thin, unmarked yellow-green bill
• Yellow-green legs
• Pale gray mantle with black-and-white wingtips
• Streaky gray-brown head in non-breeding plumage

Similar species

• Common Gull: the Eurasian counterpart, very similar in appearance but geographically separate; some individual variation in bill and head streaking has been used to distinguish vagrants.
• Ring-billed Gull: larger, with a pale eye and a black ring around the bill.
• California Gull: noticeably larger with a heavier bill showing a red and black spot.

Habitat

Breeds around boreal lakes, rivers, and wet meadows across Alaska and northwestern Canada. Outside the breeding season it moves to the Pacific coast, favoring beaches, harbors, estuaries, and agricultural fields.

Range and migration

Breeds from Alaska across northwestern Canada; winters primarily along the Pacific coast of North America from British Columbia south to Baja California, occasionally straying farther inland or along other coasts.

Behavior

Mew Gulls are often seen in loose flocks on beaches and fields, walking and probing for food with a light, quick gait, and mixing readily with other small and medium gulls.

Voice

Calls include a high-pitched, mewing "kee-ow" note, which gives the species its common name.

Feeding

An opportunistic feeder taking small fish, marine and terrestrial invertebrates, berries, and insects, often foraging on beaches, tidal flats, and open fields.

Nesting and breeding

Nests are built on the ground near water or occasionally in low shrubs, usually as solitary pairs or small loose groups rather than dense colonies. Clutches typically contain two to three eggs.