Mew Gull
Larus canus

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Laridae
Genus: Larus

Audio for Species

Call
Song

from Macaulay Library

Species Related Links

Additional Mew Gull Pictures

Description

Length: 16.1-18.1 in (41-46 cm) Weight: 12.7-21.2 oz (360-600 g) Wingspan: 42.1-44.9 in (107-114 cm)

The adult head, neck, breast and belly are white. The bill is bright yellow. They have yellow legs and dark eyes. The primary wing feathers are black with white tips and a white line divids the black and gray; the tail is white. The back and upperwings are gray.

The juvenile and first year has dark brown plumage, turning to medium gray on back, with head, neck and upper breast turning white with brown streaks. Their black bill, quickly develops a pale base, and turns to pink with a black tip in that first year. Their legs are pink or gray. The upperwing coverts are brown, with medium gray secondaries and black primaries. The tail is dark.

Habitat, Range, and Feeding

They breed in tundra, marshy areas, ponds, lakes, rivers, streams, islands, and coastal cliffs, and winters in nearshore waters and coasts. The nest is a shallow cup constructed of sticks, grasses, leaves, lichen, moss, small roots, or bark. Quite often a stone is centrally placed, likely for stablization from high winds. The nest is placed in trees or on the ground. The clutch size is 1 to 5 eggs, that are olive with dark brown spots.

They are omnivorous, consuming fish, garbage, insects, earthworms, marine invertebrates, and grains.