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Lesser Black-backed Gull, Larus fuscus, Silltrut

The Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus), called Silltrut in Skåne, is a large gull that breeds on the Atlantic coasts of Europe. It is migratory, wintering from the British Isles south to West Africa. It is a regular winter visitor to the east coast of North America, probably from the breeding population in Iceland.

Lesser Black-backed Gull, Larus fuscus, Silltrut

Range map
Range map from www.oiseaux.net - Ornithological Portal Oiseaux.net
www.oiseaux.net is one of those MUST visit pages if you're in to bird watching. You can find just about everything there

Lesser Black-backed Gull, Larus fuscus, Silltrut
Lesser Black-backed Gull, Larus fuscus, Silltrut
Geographical distribution of Lesser black-backed gull
Click HERE for full size picture
By Cephas - BirdLife International (2018) Species factsheet: Larus fuscus.
Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 04/06/2018, CC BY-SA 4.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=69707275


Taxonomy
The lesser black-backed gull was one of the many species originally described by Linnaeus in his 18th-century work, Systema Naturae, and it still bears its original name of Larus fuscus. The scientific name is from Latin. Larus appears to have referred to a gull or other large seabird, and fuscus meant black or brown.

Subspecies
There are five subspecies:

• L. f. graellsii – Brehm, 1857: Greenland, Iceland, Faroe Islands, British Isles, western Europe. Mantle dark grey.

• L. f. intermedius – Schiøler, 1922: Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, southwest Sweden & western Norway. Mantle sooty black.

• L. f. fuscus – Linnaeus, 1758: northern Norway, Sweden & Finland to the White Sea. Mantle jet black.

• L. f. heuglini – Bree, 1876: northern Russia to north-central Siberia. Known as Heuglin's gull, this was previously considered a separate species.

• L. f. barabensis – Johansen, 1960: central Asia

Description
The lesser black-backed gull is smaller than the European Herring Gull. The taxonomy of the herring gull / lesser black-backed gull complex is very complicated; different authorities recognise between two and eight species. This group has a ring distribution around the northern hemisphere.

Differences between adjacent forms in this ring are fairly small, but by the time the circuit is completed, the end members, herring gull and lesser black-backed gull, are clearly different species.

The lesser black-backed gull measures 51–64 cm, 124–150 cm across the wings and weighs 452–1,100 g, with the nominate race averaging slightly smaller than the other two subspecies.

Males, at average weight of 824 g, are slightly larger than females, at an average of 708 g. Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 38.3 to 45 cm, the bill is 4.2 to 5.8 cm and the tarsus is 5.2 to 6.9 cm.

A confusable species is the great black-backed gull. The lesser is a much smaller bird, with slimmer build, yellow rather than pinkish legs, and smaller white "mirrors" at the wing tips. The adults have black or dark grey wings (depending on race) and back.

The bill is yellow with a red spot which young peck at, inducing feeding (see fixed action pattern). The head is greyer in winter, unlike great black-backed. Annual moult for adults begins between May and August and is not complete on some birds until November. Partial pre-breeding moult between January and April.

Young birds have scaly black-brown upperparts and a neat wing pattern. They take four years to reach maturity. Identification from juvenile herring gulls is most readily done by the more solidly dark (unbarred) tertial feathers.

The call is a “laughing” cry like that of the herring gull (to which this species is closely related), but with a markedly deeper pitch.

Listen to the Lesser Black-backed Gull

Remarks from the Recordist

Recorded with my ZOOM H5 Handy recorder. High Pass filter in Audacity applied

Leaving the Wallasey Embankment after having been looking for waders along the Wallasey Embankment. I see a Black-headed Gull and a Lesser Black-backed Gull out on the mudflats. Too FAR AWAY for any pictures.

One sound recording cut in to two, second part with the Black-headed Gull uploaded to www.xeno-canto.org as well: XC437519


www.xeno-canto.org


Lesser Black-backed Gull, Larus fuscus, Silltrut
Eggs, Collection Museum Wiesbaden
Klaus Rassinger und Gerhard Cammerer, Museum Wiesbaden - Own work - CC BY-SA 3.0


Breeding
This species breeds colonially on coasts and lakes, making a lined nest on the ground or a cliff. Normally, three eggs are laid. In some cities the species nests within the urban environment, often in association with herring gulls.

Feeding
They are omnivores like most Larus gulls, and they will eat fish, insects, crustaceans, worms, starfish, molluscs, seeds, berries, small mammals, eggs, small birds, chicks, scraps, offal, and carrion.

Conservation status
Lesser Black-backed Gull, Larus fuscus, Silltrut
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.



From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

www.birdforum.net


Sighted: (Date of first photo that I could use) 6 October 2018
Location: On board m/t Ribe Maersk, Djibouti anchorage


Lesser Black-backed Gull, Larus fuscus, Silltrut
Lesser Black-backed Gull / Silltrut - On board m/t Ribe Maersk, Djibouti anchorage - 6 October 2018

Lesser Black-backed Gull, Larus fuscus, Silltrut
Lesser Black-backed Gull / Silltrut - On board m/t Ribe Maersk, Djibouti anchorage - 14 October 2018

Lesser Black-backed Gull, Larus fuscus, Silltrut
Lesser Black-backed Gull / Silltrut - On board m/t Ribe Maersk, Djibouti anchorage - 14 October 2018

Lesser Black-backed Gull, Larus fuscus, Silltrut
Lesser Black-backed Gull / Silltrut - On board m/t Ribe Maersk, Djibouti anchorage - 21 October 2018

Lesser Black-backed Gull, Larus fuscus, Silltrut
Lesser Black-backed Gull / Silltrut - On board m/t Ribe Maersk, Djibouti anchorage - 21 October 2018

Lesser Black-backed Gull, Larus fuscus, Silltrut
Lesser Black-backed Gull / Silltrut - On board m/t Ribe Maersk, Djibouti anchorage - 21 October 2018



PLEASE! If I have made any mistakes identifying any bird, PLEASE let me know on my guestbook



       
                  



                                       

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