Mew Gull
This week’s bird is the Mew Gull (Larus canus). This type of bird is often called “sea gull” even though they are mostly found inland or along the coasts. In fact, most gull species rarely venture far from land (except for Kittiwakes). If you want to impress your birder friends, make sure to call them gulls and drop the “sea” (although many birders, including this one, occasionally slip up and call them “sea gulls”).
Gull species are medium to large birds, with lots of variation in size. The largest gull species in the world is the Great Black-backed Gull, with a 5 ½ foot wingspan and weighing around 4 pounds. In contrast, the Mew Gull is on the smaller size, with a wingspan under 4 feet and weighing less than a pound. The smallest gull is the aptly named Little Gull, slightly smaller than a Rock Pigeon and weighing about 4-5 ounces.
In North America, Mew Gulls breed in Alaska, the Yukon, and into the Northwest Territory, plus western British Columbia. In the old world, their breeding range runs from Iceland, the northern British Isles, Scandinavia, and northern Russia to Siberia. In North America, they winter along the Pacific Coast.
The first time I identified a Mew Gull was in Alaska during summer 2003. I had the good fortune of having a two-month assignment working in Juneau. Janet came along – she had just left Corning and would be starting in the fall working on a Masters in Conservation Biology at University of Maryland (go Terps!).
While in Alaska, we took weekend trips to Wrangell and Tracy Arm, plus spent a week and joined our good friends Andy and Robin to see Denali and the Kenai Peninsula. We saw lots of wildlife. So even though this site is about birds, I thought I’d throw in a picture of two young grizzlies wrestling at the Anan Bear and Wildlife Observatory.
But I digress — on to the Mew Gull.
What it looks like
The Mew Gull is a medium-small gull, rather delicate looking compared to other gull species. It has a smallish rounded head, relatively big eyes, and a slender, short bill. In breeding plumage, its head, body, and tail are entirely white, with medium gray mantle (back and top of wings). The orbital ring (the bare part around the eye) turns bright for breeding birds.
This picture is from Denali National Park. I know, most of the visitors to Denali bring back pictures of Caribou, Moose, and Grizzlies. I have some of those pictures too, but I thought it important to recognize the often overlooked gulls.
One of the biggest challenges with gull identification is the various plumages they sport, due both to the season and the age of birds. Gulls typically take 2 to 3 years before they achieve full breeding plumage (although Mew Gulls achieve this after 2 years). Skilled birders can tell whether an immature gull is one or two years old, but I do not have that ability (at least not yet). I can say that this picture is an immature Mew Gull, but that’s all I can say.
Size is very useful in gull ID. It is best used when comparing a bird to something else of known size, and can be extremely helpful when several species of gulls are gathered and you can compare sizes. This picture, taken at Bodega Bay, CA, shows a Mew Gull at the top compared to a Western Gull at the bottom left. On either side of the Mew Gull is a pair of Marbled Godwits. It may be hard to see in this picture, but the Mew Gull’s head and neck are not as bright white as when in breeding plumage. This was on January 4, 2015, our last weekend outing during our time in California before moving back east.
I could tell by this picture that I was looking at a medium-small gull (just slightly larger than the Godwits) and a much larger gull. The Western Gulls are quite common in California, often hanging around beach parking lots. So again, size matters in ID’ing gulls. However (in birding ID there is almost always a however), immature gulls are often smaller than adults, and female gulls tend to be smaller than males. So there may be a noticeable size difference between an immature female next to a mature male of the same species.
Breeding Behavior
Mew Gulls are typically monogamous, often maintaining pair bonds for several years. In rare cases, the male may be bigamous, with two females laying eggs in the same nest and all three caring for and defending the nest. Mew gulls are both colonial and solitary nesters, and build nests in either trees or on the ground, choosing the former if the habitat allows and if there is risk of predators. Once a pair builds a nest, they often return to the same spot year after year. They typically lay 3 eggs, but may have from 1 to 5. Incubation takes about 3 ½ to 4 weeks. Once hatched, young leave the nest after about 3 – 5 days, but stay near the nest until they are able to fly after around 4 weeks.
Similar Species
Books have been written on how to distinguish similar looking gull species, so I won’t try to cover them all. Instead I’ll only include two of the most common similar species that can be found throughout the U.S., Mexico, and into Central America, and parts of Canada. These are the ones you are most likely to see.
Ring-billed Gull
Equally at home along coasts or in a McDonald’s parking lot, the Ring-billed is slightly larger than the Mew Gull. Look for a bright yellow bill with a distinct black ring toward the end, yellow legs, and yellow eyes. This picture shows one Ring-billed Gull chasing another, hoping to steal a free meal of Menhaden (a Menhaden, the most important fish in the sea). The photo was taken April 23, 2016, near Smith Island on the Chesapeake Bay.
Herring Gull
A larger gull, also widespread but not as much so as the Ring-billed. Adults have a yellow bill, larger and more massive looking compared to the other species covered here. They have a red spot toward the end of the lower mandible (lower part of the bill), obscured by the crab’s leg in this picture. Eyes are yellow, legs pink. Immatures are more complicated and vary by year. Most importantly, immatures have a dark tip around end of bill that superficially resembles that of the Ring-billed.
This picture was taken on May 22, 2017, at the Coastal Maine Botanical Garden near Boothbay Harbor, ME. It is a great place for birds as well as flora, bees, and butterflies.
Fun Facts
Mew Gulls have been observed “playing”. Adults dive into shallow water to retrieve sunken leaves, shake their heads, toss the leaves into the air, retrieve, and continue this for some time. Immature gulls have been observed carrying objects to about 30 feet, dropping them over water, and attempting to retrieving them before they hit the water. They have been observed repeating this behavior for 20 to 30 times at one viewing.
A group of gulls may be referred to using various terms, such as flotilla, gullery, screech, scavenging, or squabble of gulls. I think squabble is my favorite.
Next week: Baltimore Orioles
Go back to last week: Red-naped Sapsucker
We are gulls, or what I thought were gulls up here. What type would they be?
Most likely Ring-billed Gulls. They are most prevalent during fall, winter, spring, then head north to breed. The larger Herring Gulls are less abundant but have the same pattern. During the summer in Kansas, look for gulls with black heads, dark orange bills, and black legs — those are likely Franklin Gulls.