Skimmers, Noddies, Terns, and Gulls
Great Black-backed Gull
Larus marinus
- Family
- Skimmers, Noddies, Terns, and Gulls (Laridae)
- Order
- Charadriiformes
Overview
The great black-backed gull (Larus marinus) is the largest member of the gull and tern family Laridae. It is a very aggressive hunter, pirate and scavenger which breeds on the North Atlantic coasts and islands of northern Europe and northeastern North America. Southern populations are generally sedentary, while those breeding in the far north (northern Norway, northwest Russia) migrate farther south in winter. A few also move inland to large lakes and reservoirs.
Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Range and habitat
Breeds North Atlantic coasts, from southern Greenland and Iceland to Svalbard and Baltic states, and coastal and inland northeastern Canada to Great Lakes and Atlantic coast southward to New Jersey; winters to coastal southwestern Europe and coastal Florida.
Range description: AviList Global Avian Checklist.
Countries
- Albania
- Algeria
- Austria
- Bahamas
- Belgium
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Canada
- Colombia
- Cuba
- Czechia
- Denmark
- Dominican Republic
- Estonia
- Faroe Islands
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Greenland
- Haiti
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Lebanon
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Montenegro
- Morocco
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Russia
- Serbia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Venezuela
- Western Sahara
Sources and further reading
- Wikipedia: Great black-backed gull
- eBird: sightings, maps and photos
- xeno-canto: sound recordings
- Birds of the World: full species account (subscription)
- BirdLife DataZone: status and threats
- IUCN Red List (threat status)
- AviList global checklist (taxonomy)
Last updated September 29, 2026.
