page_title: Gull
section_title: List of species
hierarchical_section_title: Gull / List of species
caption_attribution_description: English: An American Herring Gull eating a starfish at Plum Island Nature Preserve, Massachusetts, USA
context_page_description: Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and only distantly related to auks, skimmers and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century, most gulls were placed in the genus Larus, but that arrangement is now considered polyphyletic, leading to the resurrection of several genera. An older name for gulls is mews, which is cognate with German Möwe, Danish måge, Swedish mås, Dutch meeuw, and French mouette, and can still be found in certain regional dialects.
  Gulls are typically medium to large birds, usually grey or white, often with black markings on the head or wings. They typically have harsh wailing or squawking calls; stout, longish bills; and webbed feet. Most gulls are ground-nesting carnivores which take live food or scavenge opportunistically, particularly the Larus species. Live food often includes crabs and small fish. Gulls have unhinging jaws which allow them to consume large prey. Gulls are typically coastal or inland species, rarely venturing far out to sea, except for the kittiwakes.
context_section_description: This is a list of the 54 gull species, presented in taxonomic sequence.
  Genus Larus
  Pacific gull, Larus pacificus
  Belcher's gull, Larus belcheri
  Olrog's gull, Larus atlanticus
  Black-tailed gull, Larus crassirostris
  Heermann's gull, Larus heermanni
  Common gull or mew gull, Larus canus
  Ring-billed gull, Larus delawarensis
  California gull, Larus californicus
  Great black-backed gull, Larus marinus
  Kelp gull, Larus dominicanus (called "southern black-backed gull" or "karoro" in New Zealand)
  Cape gull, Larus dominicanus vetula
  Glaucous-winged gull, Larus glaucescens
  Western gull, Larus occidentalis
  Yellow-footed gull, Larus livens
  Glaucous gull, Larus hyperboreus
  Iceland gull, Larus glaucoides
  Kumlien's gull, Larus glaucoides kumlieni
  Thayer's gull, Larus glaucoides thayeri
  European herring gull, Larus argentatus
  American herring gull, Larus smithsonianus
  Caspian gull, Larus cachinnans
  Yellow-legged gull, Larus michahellis
  East Siberian herring gull, Larus vegae
  Armenian gull, Larus armenicus
  Slaty-backed gull, Larus schistisagus
  Lesser black-backed gull, Larus fuscus
  Heuglin's gull, Larus fuscus heuglini
  Genus Ichthyaetus
  White-eyed gull, Ichthyaetus leucophthalmus
  Sooty gull, Ichthyaetus hemprichii
  Great black-headed gull or Pallas's gull, Ichthyaetus ichthyaetus
  Audouin's gull, Ichthyaetus audouinii
  Mediterranean gull, Ichthyaetus melanocephalus
  Relict gull, Ichthyaetus relictus
  Genus Leucophaeus
  Dolphin gull, Leucophaeus scoresbii
  Laughing gull, Leucophaeus atricilla
  Franklin's gull, Leucophaeus pipixcan
  Lava gull, Leucophaeus fuliginosus
  Gray gull, Leucophaeus modestus
  Genus Chroicocephalus
  Silver gull, Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae
  Red-billed gull, Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae scopulinus
  Hartlaub's gull, Chroicocephalus hartlaubii
  Brown-hooded gull, Chroicocephalus maculipennis
  Gray-headed gull, Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus
  Andean gull, Chroicocephalus serranus
  Black-billed gull, Chroicocephalus bulleri
  Brown-headed gull, Chroicocephalus brunnicephalus
  Black-headed gull, Chroicocephalus ridibundus
  Slender-billed gull, Chroicocephalus genei
  Bonaparte's gull, Chroicocephalus philadelphia
  Saunders's gull, Chroicocephalus saundersi
  Genus Hydrocoloeus (may include Rhodostethia)
  Little gull, Hydrocoloeus minutus
  Genus Rhodostethia
  Ross's gull, Rhodostethia rosea
  Genus Rissa
  Black-legged kittiwake, Rissa tridactyla
  Red-legged kittiwake, Rissa brevirostris
  Genus Pagophila
  Ivory gull, Pagophila eburnea
  Genus Xema
  Sabine's gull, Xema sabini
  Genus Creagrus
  Swallow-tailed gull, Creagrus furcatus
caption: American herring gull eating a sea star
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