urbpan | Entries tagged with great black-backed gull

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The great black-backed gull Larus marinus* is larger still, in fact it is the largest gull in the world, with a wingspan approaching or exceeding 5 feet. They often flock with herring gulls, and are similarly predatory on other birds' chicks. They will quite readily, as the picture above attests, take advantage of human sources of food as well. The great black-backed gull is only found in the Northeast, migrating from the Canadian maritimes to as far south as the Carolinas. They winter as far west as the Great Lakes. They can be found in and around Boston year round.

photo IMGP2334_zpscwglqacu.jpg

A checkered youngster takes flight with a couple adult blackbacks and a herring gull.

* this is rather embarrassing. It translates to "sea gull."

Current Music: The Monkees - (I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone

Photo by

cottonmanifesto. Location: Jamaica Pond.

Urban species #344: Great black-backed gull Larus marinus

The largest gull in North America is a regular, if not common, visitor to the northeastern cities. Often mixed flocks of city gulls--usually ring-billed and herring gulls--seem to be lorded over by a single great black-backed gull. One or two of these conspicuously larger birds lurks in the back of the flock, shyer of humans despite their commanding size. Sometimes they are the dingy-looking youngsters, or sometimes the adults with bright white bellies and dark black wings. In winter the white is less bright, and the black less dark, but the bird can be recognized still by its larger than red-tailed hawk stature. Black-backs bully other birds out of their catches, including other gulls and even birds of prey. They happily eat garbage and carrion, which accounts for their attraction to urban areas.