Mew Gull

Mew Gull, breeding adult (Def. Alternate); Anchorage, AK, June

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Mew Gull, 2nd winter (Basic II); Ventura, CA; January

Mew Gull, unfledged juvenile (Juvenal plumage); Anchorage, AK; August

Mew Gull, breeding adult; Anchorage, AK, June; note color of bill and orbital ring.

Mew Gull, breeding adult; Anchorage, AK, June; note bill and gape color.

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1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

One of the smallest of the "white-headed" gulls, the Mew Gull is common along Pacific Coast beaches in winter. It also occurs in Eurasia, where it is known at the "Common Gull."

Description

• Medium-sized to small gull.
• Unmarked yellow bill.
• Head and underparts white.
• Back medium gray.
• Wingtips black with white spots.
• Legs yellow.

• Size: 41-46 cm (16-18 in)
• Wingspan: 107-114 cm (42-45 in)
• Weight: 360-600 g (12.71-21.18 ounces)

Sex Differences

Sexes look alike; males slightly larger.

Sound

Call a high, sharp squeak, more abrupt than whining of most other gulls.

Conservation Status

Not threatened in any part of its range.

Other Names

Goéland cendré (French)
Gaviota cana (Spanish)
Common Gull (British), Short-billed Gull (English)

Cool Facts

• The Mew Gull has an extensive breeding range, with three distinct forms that are sometimes considered different species. The European form, known as the "Common Gull" has less white in the wingtips than the American form, or "Short-billed Gull," and its first-year plumage is much paler. The eastern Asian form known as "Kamchatka Gull" is larger, with a larger bill, and pale yellow eyes.
• Although the Mew Gull is a common bird along the Pacific Coast, it is a rarity in the East. Birds that appear along the Atlantic Coast are likely to be from Europe.

• The Mew Gull is the only ?white-headed? gull that regularly uses trees for nesting.

• The European form of the Mew Gull, the "Common Gull," closely resembles the American form in adult plumage, but the two forms differ more in juvenal and first winter plumages. The American form is all dirty gray, with a mostly dark brown tail and dusky wings. The European form is much more black and white, with a paler head and underparts, a white rump and upper tail, a black band on the tip of the tail, blackish wingtips, and a dark line along the back of the wing (the secondaries).

Sources used to construct this page:

Moskoff, W., and L. R. Bevier. 2002. Mew Gull (Larus canus). In The Birds of North America, No. 687 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.