Little Gull

This is the smallest gull in the world. It has short wings, and adults have dark slate gray underwings. In breeding plumage the head and bill are black, and the legs are red. Non-breeding adults have a white head with a dusky crown and a dark spot behind the eye. Immature birds are like the winter adult but with a light underwing and dark brown "W"-shaped mark on the upper wings. Length: 29-30 cm.; weight: 100-150 g. Breeds primarily in northern Eurasia, and winters in coastal Europe. Has become more common in winter off eastern North America and some birds breed in the Great Lakes area and along HudsonÆs Bay in Canada. Accidental in coastal Puerto Rico (for example, 27 september 1999 at the mouth of the Río Grande de Añasco).

TAXONOMY: CHARADRIIFORMES; LARIDAE; Larinae

Adult, non-breeding - Photo: J. Hornbuckle

Immature - Photo: M. Donahue

References

del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott, and J. Sargatal, eds. 1996. Handbook of Birds of the World, Vol. 3. Hoatzin to Auks. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

Ewins, P.J. and D.V.C. Weseloh. 1999. Little Gull (Larus minutus). No. 428 in The birds of North America (F. Gill, A. Poole, and P. Stettenheim, eds.). The birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.

Grant, P.J. 1997. Gulls: a guide to identification, 2^nd Ed. Academic Press, NY.

Harrison, P. 1983. Seabirds: an identification guide. Houghton Mifflin, Boston.

Harrison, P. 1987. A field guide to seabirds of the world. Stephen Greene Press, Lexington, MA.

Raffaele, H.A. 1989. A guide to the birds of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Princeton.

Raffaele, H.A. 1989. Una guía a las aves de Puerto Rico y las Islas Vírgenes. Publishing Resources, Inc., Santurce, PR.

Raffaele, H.A., J.W. Wiley, O.H. Garrido, A.R. Keith, and J.I. Raffaele. 1998. Guide to the birds of the West Indies. Princeton.

Little Gull, Spanish text

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