Western Gull

Western Gull, adult, breeding plumage

About the photographs

About the map

Play sound from this species

Western Gull, adult, non-breeding plumage

Western Gull, 1st winter

Menu

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

A large, dark-backed gull of the Pacific Coast, the Western Gull is seldom found far from the ocean.

Description

• Large gull.
• Head and underparts white.
• Back dark slate gray.
• Legs pink.

• Size: 56-66 cm (22-26 in)
• Wingspan: 120-144 cm (47-57 in)
• Weight: 800-1250 g (28.24-44.13 ounces)

Sex Differences

Sexes alike in plumage, male larger than female.

Sound

Call a loud whistly "keow."

Conservation Status

Although still common, its numbers are declining, possibly from the increased frequency of El Niño years that decrease or eliminate nest success. Because of its small population size and limited range, the Western Gull should be monitored.

Other Names

Goéland d'Audubon (French)
Gaviota occidental (Spanish)

Cool Facts

• Like most gulls, the Western Gull is an opportunistic feeder, capturing its own live prey, scavenging refuse, or stealing food from seals and other gulls. It is known to steal milk from lactating female seals while they lie on their backs sleeping on the beach.

• The Western Gull hybridizes extensively with the Glaucous-winged Gull, with the hybrids being the most common form in Washington. The hybrids can be similar to the parent adult forms, but usually have intermediate back and wingtip coloring. With the medium-gray back, dark upper surface to wingtips, frosty white undersurface to wingtips and a darkish eye, a hybrid may closely resemble a robust Thayer's Gull. The flatter and larger head of the hybrid, and especially the thick bill with a pronounced angle on the bottom, should help distinguish it from the smaller, slimmer Thayer's Gull.

• The Yellow-footed Gull of the Gulf of California formerly was regarded as a race of the Western Gull. But its legs are a different color, and it also takes only three, not four, years to reach adult plumage.

• In colonies with many more females than males present, two females may establish a pair bond. Each lays eggs, and then takes care of the double-sized brood. The female-biased sex ratio of some Western Gull colonies may have been the result of pollution by pesticides that acted like estrogen and made some male embryos develop as females.

Sources used to construct this page:

Pierotti, R. J., and C. A. Annett. 1995. Western Gull (Larus occidentalis). In The Birds of North America, No. 174 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.