Skimmers, Noddies, Terns, and Gulls
Slaty-backed Gull
Larus schistisagus
- Family
- Skimmers, Noddies, Terns, and Gulls (Laridae)
- Order
- Charadriiformes
Overview
The slaty-backed gull (Larus schistisagus) is a large, white-headed gull that breeds on the north-eastern coast of the Palearctic, but travels widely during nonbreeding seasons. It is similar in appearance to the western gull and the glaucous-winged gull. Another alternate name is Pacific gull, though it also applies to a Southern Hemisphere species, L. pacificus.
Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Range and habitat
Breeds coasts and lakes of northeastern Siberia including Kamchatka southward to Kuril Islands (eastern Russia), and eastward to Hokkaido and northern Honshu (northern Japan); winters to coasts of Japan, Korean Peninsula, Bohai Sea (northeastern China), and Taiwan; prone to extreme vagrancy.
Range description: AviList Global Avian Checklist.
Continents
Sources and further reading
- Wikipedia: Slaty-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.
