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Home/Species/ Lesser Black-backed Gull

Larus fuscus

Linnaeus, 1758

Lesser Black-backed Gull

G5Secure Found in 4 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.102581
Element CodeABNNM03150
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassAves
OrderCharadriiformes
FamilyLaridae
GenusLarus
Other Common Names
Gaviota Sombría (ES) Goéland brun (FR)
Concept Reference
American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in The Auk]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
Taxonomic Comments
Some authors have considered L. argentatus and L. fuscus as conspecific, but they are widely sympatric with only limited hybridization (AOU 1983). Allozyme data indicate a very close overall genetic similarity among L. argentatus, L. cachinnans, L. fuscus, L. glaucoides, L. hyperboreus, and L. marinus (Snell 1991). See Post and Lewis (1995) for a taxonomic overview, including information on subspecies.
Conservation Status
Rank MethodExpertise without calculation
Review Date2016-04-09
Change Date1996-11-27
Range Extent Comments
BREEDS: Iceland, Faroe Islands, northern Scandinavia, and northern Russia south to British Isles and France. Nonbreeding individuals often summer in winter range. Evidently now beginning to breed in small numbers in Greenland and North America (Post and Lewis 1995). WINTERS: Old World and in small numbers from Great Lakes and Labrador south to Gulf Coast and Florida. Uncommon but increasing along North American Atlantic coast in migration and winter (Post and Lewis 1995).
Ecology & Habitat

Description

See Post and Lewis (1995) for information on identification of subspecies.

Habitat

Coastal regions, bays, estuaries, and inland on lakes and rivers (AOU 1983); also garbage dumps, tidal flats, sewer outlets, beaches, and sometimes in plowed fields with other gulls (herring, great black-backed) (Terres 1980). Nests on tundra, along sandy and rocky coasts, and on islands in lakes and larger rivers (AOU 1983).
Terrestrial Habitats
TundraSand/duneCropland/hedgerow
Palustrine Habitats
Riparian
Other Nations (2)
CanadaNUN,N4M
ProvinceRankNative
Nova ScotiaSNAYes
British ColumbiaSUNYes
OntarioS3N,S4MYes
QuebecS4MYes
Island of NewfoundlandS3N,SUMYes
LabradorS3N,SUMYes
United StatesNNRN
ProvinceRankNative
Rhode IslandS1NYes
South CarolinaS3NYes
MarylandSNAYes
North CarolinaS3NYes
PennsylvaniaSNAYes
New JerseyS5NYes
GeorgiaSNRNYes
KentuckySNAYes
AlabamaSNRNYes
FloridaSNAYes
MinnesotaSNAYes
VirginiaSNAYes
MassachusettsS1NYes
TexasSNAYes
ConnecticutSNAYes
New YorkSNRNYes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
5 - Biological resource usePervasive - largeSlight or 1-10% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
5.1 - Hunting & collecting terrestrial animalsPervasive - largeSlight or 1-10% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
8 - Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseasesSmall (1-10%)Serious or 31-70% pop. declineModerate (short-term)
8.1 - Invasive non-native/alien species/diseasesSmall (1-10%)Serious or 31-70% pop. declineModerate (short-term)
9 - PollutionLarge - smallModerate or 11-30% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
9.3 - Agricultural & forestry effluentsLarge - smallModerate or 11-30% pop. declineHigh (continuing)

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Roadless Areas (4)
Alaska (2)
AreaForestAcres
Game CreekTongass National Forest54,469
LindenbergTongass National Forest25,855
California (1)
AreaForestAcres
Mt. JacksonHumboldt-Toiyabe National Forest20,721
Utah (1)
AreaForestAcres
WellsvilleWasatch-Cache National Forest1,717
References (24)
  1. American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1983. Check-list of North American Birds, 6th edition. Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas. 877 pp.
  2. American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in <i>The Auk</i>]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
  3. Barcena, F., A. M. Teixeira, and Andres Bermejo. 1984. Breeding seabird populations in the Atlantic sector of the Iberian Peninsula. Pages 335-345 in Croxall et al., eds. Status and conservation of the world's seabirds. ICBP Tech. Pub. No. 2.
  4. BirdLife International. 2004b. Threatened birds of the world 2004. CD ROM. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK.
  5. Braun, M. J., D. W. Finch, M. B. Robbins, and B. K. Schmidt. 2000. A field checklist of the birds of Guyana. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
  6. Evans, P. G. H. 1984b. Status and conservation of seabirds in northwest Europe (excluding Norways and the USSR). Pages 293-321 in Croxall et al., eds. Status and conservation of the world's seabirds. ICBP Tech. Pub. No. 2.
  7. Gaston, A. J., and J. M. Hipfner. 2000. Thick-billed Murre (<i>Uria lomvia</i>). No. 497 IN A. Poole and F. Gill, editors, The birds of North America. The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. 32pp.
  8. Gaston, A. J., et al. 1994. Population parameters of thick-billed murres at Coats Island, Northwest Territories, Canada. Condor 96:935-948.
  9. Golovkin, A. N. 1984. Seabirds nesting in the USSR: the status and protection of populations. Pages 473-486 in Croxall et al., eds. Status and conservation of the world's seabirds. ICBP Tech. Pub. No. 2.
  10. Howell, S. N. G., and S. Webb. 1995. A guide to the birds of Mexico and northern Central America. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.
  11. Mostello, C. S., N. A. Palaia, and R. B. Clapp. 2000. Gray-backed Tern (Sterna lunata). No. 525 in A. Poole and F. Gill (editors). The birds of North America. The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. 28 pp.
  12. National Geographic Society (NGS). 1983. Field guide to the birds of North America. National Geographic Society, Washington, DC.
  13. Parker III, T. A., D. F. Stotz, and J. W. Fitzpatrick. 1996. Ecological and distributional databases for neotropical birds. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
  14. Pons, J. M., A. Hassanin, and P. A. Crochet. 2005. Phylogenetic relationships within the Laridae (Charadriiformes: Aves) inferred from mitochondrial markers. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 37:686-699.
  15. Post, P. W., and R. H. Lewis. 1995a. The lesser black-backed gull in the Americas. Occurrence and subspecific identity. Part I: taxonomy, distribution, and migration. Birding 27(4):282-290.
  16. Post, P. W., and R. H. Lewis. 1995b. Lesser black-backed gull in the Americas. Occurrence and subspecific identity. Part II. Field identification. Birding 27(5):370-381.
  17. Raffaele, H., J. Wiley, O. Garrido, A. Keith, and J. Raffaele. 1998. A guide to the birds of the West Indies. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ. 511 pp.
  18. Ridgely, R. S. 2002. Distribution maps of South American birds. Unpublished.
  19. Ridgely, R. S. and P. J. Greenfield. 2001. The birds of Ecuador: Status, distribution, and taxonomy. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY, USA.
  20. Schreiber, E. A., R. W. Schreiber, and G. A. Schenk. 1996. Red-footed Booby (<i>Sula sula</i>). No. 241 in A. Poole and F. Gill, editors. The birds of North America. The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The Amerian Ornithologists' Union, Washington, DC. 24 pp.
  21. Sibley, D. A. 2000a. The Sibley guide to birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
  22. Snell, R. R. 1991a. Interspecific allozyme differentiation among North Atlantic white-headed larid gulls. Auk 108:319-328.
  23. Terres, J. K. 1980. The Audubon Society encyclopedia of North American birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
  24. The American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). Banks, R.C., R.T. Chesser, C. Cicero, J.L. Dunn, A.W. Kratter, I.J. Lovette, P.C. Rasmussen, J.V. Remsen, Jr., J.D. Rising, D.F. Stotz, and K. Winker. 2008. Forty-ninth supplement to the American Ornithologists' Union Check-list of North American Birds. The Auk 125(3):758-768.