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Help develop a Bird ID tool!

Mew Gull

Larus canus ORDER: CHARADRIIFORMES FAMILY: LARIDAE

IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern

One of the smallest of the "white-headed" gulls, the Mew Gull is common along Pacific Coast beaches in winter. It also occurs in Eurasia, where it is known at the "Common Gull."

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Appearance

Gulls
Gulls
Typical Voice

Adult Description

  • Medium-sized to small gull.
  • Unmarked yellow bill.
  • Head and underparts white.
  • Back medium gray.
  • Wingtips black with white spots.
  • Legs yellow.

Immature Description

Juvenal Plumage: Dirty, grayish brown head, back, and chest. Back feathers with light tips, giving a scaly appearance. Underparts light brownish gray, barred on the flanks. Tail dark brown, with slightly paler base. Wingtips blackish. Bill black. Eyes dark. Legs pinkish.
First Winter (Basic I) Plumage: Like juvenal, but head and belly paler.
First Summer (Alternate I) Plumage:Back gray. Wing coverts worn and white. Head whitish. Wingtips worn and pale.
Second Winter (Basic II) Plumage: Back mostly gray; some feathers brown. Head and neck washed with grayish brown. Tail white with irregular black band near tip. Feathers of wingtips black or blackish, with only small white spots.

Range Map Help

Mew Gull Range Map
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Field MarksHelp

  • Adult breeding
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    Mew Gull

    Adult breeding
    • © 2004 Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Anchorage, Alaska, June 2000
  • Second winter
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    Mew Gull

    Second winter
    • © 2004 Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ventura, California, January 2000
  • Juvenile
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    Mew Gull

    Juvenile
    • © 2004 Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Anchorage, Alaska, August 2000
  • Adult breeding
    Zoom In

    Mew Gull

    Adult breeding
    • Bill yellow; red skin around eye
    • © 2004 Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Anchorage, Alaska, June 2000
  • Adult breeding
    Zoom In

    Mew Gull

    Adult breeding
    • Yellow bill; red lining to mouth
    • © 2004 Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Anchorage, Alaska, June 2000

Similar Species

  • Ring-billed Gull has a larger bill with a black ring, and a slightly lighter mantle. The white spots on the outer wingtips are larger in Mew than in Ring-billed Gull. Young Ring-billed Gull has a thinner dark tail band instead of all dark tail.
  • California Gull is larger, has a larger bill, and has greenish gray legs. Its bill is yellow with a black ring and a red spot.
  • Herring Gull is larger, with pinkish legs, light eyes, and red spot on lower mandible. Back color is a shade lighter gray.
  • Thayer's Gull is larger, has pink legs, and little black in the wingtips.