Bird Guide

Glaucous Gull vs Little Gull

Glaucous Gull (Larus hyperboreus)

Glaucous Gull

Larus hyperboreus

Huge1.5 kgCoastal

This is a large and powerful gull, second-largest of all gull species and very pale in all plumage, with no black on either the wings or the tail. Adults are pale grey above, with a thick, yellow bill. Juveniles are very pale grey with a pink and black bill. This species is considerably larger, bulkier, and thicker-billed than the similar Iceland gull, and can sometimes equal the size of the great black-backed gull, the oft-titled largest gull species. In some areas, glaucous gulls are about the same weight as great black-backed gulls or even heavier, and their maximum weight is greater.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Sowls, Art · Public domain
Little Gull (Hydrocoloeus minutus)

Little Gull

Hydrocoloeus minutus

Medium118 gCoastal

The little gull has a body length of 24 to 28 cm (9.4 to 11.0 in) and a wing span of 62 to 69 cm (24 to 27 in), making it the smallest gull species in the world. The adults in breeding plumage have a black hood, dark red bill, bright red legs, and sometimes a rosy flush to the underside. In non-breeding plumage the adults have a black cap and spot on the ear, white underparts, a black bill and the red on the legs is duller. In all plumages the adults have a pale grey back and upperwings with white primaries contrasting with very dark grey underwing.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Ekaterina Chernetsova (Papchinskaya) from Saint-Petersburg, Russia · CC BY 2.0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Glaucous Gull and Little Gull.