Little gull

The little gull (Hydrocoloeus minutus or Larus minutus), is a small gull that breeds in northern Europe and across the Palearctic. The genus name Hydrocoloeus is from Ancient Greek hydro, "water", and koloios, a sort of web-footed bird. The specific minutus is Latin for "small".[2]

Little gull
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Laridae
Genus: Hydrocoloeus
Kaup, 1829
Species:
H. minutus
Binomial name
Hydrocoloeus minutus
(Pallas, 1776, rivers of Siberia)
Range of H. minutus
  Breeding
  Non-breeding
  Vagrant (seasonality uncertain)
Synonyms

Larus minutus Pallas, 1776

It also has small colonies in parts of southern Canada. It is migratory, wintering on coasts in western Europe, the Mediterranean and (in small numbers) the northeast United States; in recent years non-breeding birds have summered in western Europe in increasing numbers and in 2016 they successfully nested for the first time in Great Britain at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds reserve at Loch of Strathbeg reserve in Aberdeenshire.[3] As is the case with many gulls, it has traditionally been placed in the genus Larus. It is the only member of the genus Hydrocoloeus, although it has been suggested that Ross's gull also should be included in this genus.

This species breeds colonially on freshwater marshes, making a lined nest on the ground amongst vegetation. Normally 2–6 eggs are laid.

This is the smallest gull species, with a length of 25–30 cm (9.8–11.8 in), a wingspan of 61–78 cm (24–31 in), and a mass of 68–162 g (2.4–5.7 oz).[4][5][6] It is pale grey in breeding plumage with a black hood, dark underwings and often a pinkish flush on the breast. In winter, the head goes white apart from a darker cap and eye-spot. The bill is thin and black and the legs dark red. The flight on rounded wings is somewhat tern-like.

Young birds have black markings on the head and upperparts, and "W" pattern across the wings. They take three years to reach maturity.

These gulls pick food off the water surface, and will also catch insects in the air like a black tern.

  • Egg, Collection Museum Wiesbaden
  • Adult in winter plumage
  • Juvenile; Yyteri, Pori, Suomi - Finland
  • Adult Breeding plumage
  • Picking food from the water surface

References
  1. Butchart, S.; Symes, A. (2012). "Hydrocoloeus minutus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012: e.T22694469A38866773. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012-1.RLTS.T22694469A38866773.en.
  2. Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. pp. 196, 256. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  3. "World's smallest gull breeding in Scotland for the first time". Rare Bird Alert. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  4. Dunning, John B., Jr., ed. (1992). CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses. CRC Press. ISBN 978-0-8493-4258-5.
  5. Little gull media from ARKive
  6. "Little gull". All About Birds. Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
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