Lesser Black-backed Gull

• GeneralStrongly migratory: the northern birds winter in Iberia and West Africa.
• In winter it is abundant far inland in Spain: it gathers at reservoirs and landfills in the interior of the peninsula, a long way from the sea, a habit that sets it apart from other large gulls.
• It features in one of the classic ring species cases: the chain of forms encircling the Arctic that links the lesser black-backed gull with the herring gull was used for decades as an example of speciation, although recent genetic data have qualified it considerably.
• It breeds on city rooftops in northern Europe, where the urban colonies now outnumber the coastal ones in several countries.

Skeleton type

Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)

Habitat and environment

Coasts, islands, marshes and city rooftops of northern Europe; winters in Iberia and West Africa

Sexual maturity

4 years

Gestation / incubation

26 days of incubation

Litter / clutch size

3 eggs

Sources consulted: IUCN Red List · Animal Diversity Web · Wikipedia (es)

The pins mark the parks where its presence is documented.