Common gull

The common gull (Larus canus), which is also known as the mew gull, is not as common as its first name suggests, although it is by no means rare. It is widely distributed in Europe and there is also a subspecies that is found in North America. In the United Kingdom it is resident in Scotland and northern England and is a winter visitor in Wales and southern England. There is considerable movement of common gulls around Europe before and after the breeding season, with many of the wintering birds in Britain having come from Scandinavia.


Appearance

At 40-42 centimetres (15.5-16.5 inches) in length, the common gull is considerably smaller than the herring gull but similar to it in overall appearance. Fully mature birds have a blue-grey back, white underparts, black wingtips, greenish-yellow legs and bill (whereas the herring gull has pink legs), and dark eyes. The head and neck are pure white in summer but streaked with grey in winter.

Male and female common gulls are similar to each other in appearance.


Habitat

Common gulls breed either on the coast or inland, the latter including moorland, bogs, marshes, lakes and rivers. In the winter they are often seen on farmland and in urban environments such as playing fields and reservoirs.


Behaviour and feeding

The common gull is a sociable bird that will feed and roost alongside other gull species outside the breeding season, and may also share breeding colonies with other gulls or terns.

Food for the common gull varies between the seasons, being mainly worms, insects, fish, small mammals and the eggs and young of other bird species in summer, and invertebrates, fish and crustaceans in winter. As well as “following the plough” for worms, the common gull also frequents rubbish tips, especially during harsh winters. They will eat carrion as well as live prey and will also rob other birds of their food.

The common gull gets its name of “mew gull” from its high-pitched mewing call.


Breeding

Birds arrive at their nesting grounds already paired, in March or early April.

Common gulls can build nests in various locations, including clifftop ledges, on the ground, in vegetation, or on roofs. They have even been known to nest in trees. Both partners build the nest, from whatever vegetation is availa80,695,551ble, including seaweed, although the female does most of the work with the materials being fetched by the male.

A clutch of two to four eggs is laid, with both adults incubating them in turn for up to 28 days. The young birds leave the nest within two days, although they do not wander far. Food is brought to them by both parents, the chicks taking it from the adult birds’ beaks. After 20 days the young gulls are able to find their own food, but it is not until they are 35 days old that they can fly and are fully independent.


Conservation

The common gull is not regarded as being a species in danger and is not therefore the target of any conservation measures. Future threats might come from moves to drain inland marshes and develop other environments where they tend to winter.

© John Welford