Little Gull

Taxobox
name = Little Gull
status = LC| status= LC | status_system = IUCN3.1

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image_caption = First-summer immature
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo = Charadriiformes
familia = Laridae
genus = "Hydrocoloeus"
genus_authority = Kaup, 1829
species = "H. minutus"
binomial = "Hydrocoloeus minutus"
binomial_authority = (Pallas, 1776, rivers of Siberia)
synonyms= "Larus minutus"

The Little Gull ("Hydrocoloeus minutus") is a small gull which breeds in northern Europe and Asia. It also has small colonies in parts of northern Canada. It is migratory, wintering on coasts in western Europe, the Mediterranean and (in small numbers) the northeast USA. 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 25-27cm, a wingspan of 75-80cm and a weight of 68-133 grammes. 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.

References

* Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
* Malling Olsen, Klaus and Hans Larsson, "Gulls of Europe, Asia and North America" ISBN 0-7136-7087-8
* BOU Records Committee, British Ornithologists' Union Records Committee: 36th Report (November 2007), Ibis (2008), 150, 218-220.
* Pons J.M., Hassanin, A., and Crochet P.A.(2005). "Phylogenetic relationships within the Laridae (Charadriiformes: Aves) inferred from mitochondrial markers." Molecular phylogenetics and evolution 37(3):686-699