Lesser Black-backed Gull
Larus fuscus

Conservation status | Numbers and distribution have expanded greatly during the last century. |
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Family | Gulls and Terns |
Habitat | Beaches, bays, coasts, garbage dumps. Mostly along coast, including bays, estuaries, coastal islands; also around lakes inland, especially Great Lakes and elsewhere in northeast. Concentrates around sources of food, such as garbage dumps, fishing harbors. |
Photo Gallery
Feeding Behavior
Forages by swooping down to sea surface in flight, or picks up items while swimming, walking, or wading. May steal food from other birds.
Eggs
(3, sometimes 1-4) brown or olive to blue-green, usually blotched with dark brown. Incubation is by both sexes, 24-27 days. Young: Both parents feed young. Downy young may leave nest after a few days, but remain in vicinity. Age at first flight about 30-40 days.
Young
Both parents feed young. Downy young may leave nest after a few days, but remain in vicinity. Age at first flight about 30-40 days.
Diet
Omnivorous. Diet includes a wide variety of fish, insects, mollusks, crustaceans, marine worms, small birds, nestlings, eggs, rodents; also eats berries, seeds, seaweed. Also scavenges refuse around garbage dumps.
Nesting
Not yet established as a nesting bird in North America, although single birds have paired up with Herring Gulls at a couple of colonies. Usually first breeds at age of 4 years. Nests in colonies. Nest site on ground, sometimes on cliff ledge or on roof of building. Nest (built by both sexes) a mound of grasses, seaweed, debris, with shallow depression at top lined with finer materials.
Illustration © David Allen Sibley.
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Text © Kenn Kaufman, adapted from
Lives of North American Birds
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Migration
May be found in North America during every month of the year, but largest numbers are seen during winter. Some move quite far south: common in Florida, regular in coastal Texas and parts of the Caribbean. Most of those wintering in North America probably come from Iceland and Greenland.
See a fully interactive migration map for over 450 bird species on the Bird Migration Explorer.
Learn moreSongs and Calls
A strident kyow; deeper than that of Herring Gull.Learn more about this sound collection.