(Larus marinus)
28 - 31 inches

photograph © James F. Parnell

Status: No special status in North Carolina.

Identification: Great Black-backed Gulls are the largest of the gulls along the Atlantic Coast. Adults have a white head, neck and underparts and a black mantle. The legs are pinkish, and the bill is yellow with a reddish spot and a dark spot on the lower mandible.

Nesting Habitat: The Great Black-backed Gull is primarily a marine species that nests on remote islands. In North Carolina, this species nests on natural islands and shoals, and on dredged-material islands. They will nest on bare sand or shell, in grasses, and in saltmarsh.

Breeding Biology: Adults begin to gather on colony sites and initiate nesting activities in mid-April. Nests are built on the ground and are usually lined with grasses. The females lay two to three olive-colored eggs with uneven, dark brown-black blotches. Both parents participate in incubation, which lasts about 26 days. Chicks often leave the nest a few days after hatching and begin to make their first flights at seven to eight weeks of age. North Carolina colony sites are occupied from April to mid-August.

Food: Great Black-backed Gulls are opportunistic feeders. Food consists of fish, birds, mammals, crustaceans, mollusks, bivalves, amphibians, insects, other invertebrates, seeds and berries. This species will regularly scavenge food at garbage dumps, fish-cleaning stations and other locations.

State Nesting Population: Increasing, approximately 175 nesting pairs.

Major Threats: none.

Waterbirds:
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Last Revision 5/21/98