# Caspian gull (*Larus cachinnans*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/caspian-gull  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The caspian gull (Larus cachinnans) is a bird of the family Laridae in the order Charadriiformes, also called the Pontic gull, Yellow-legged gull, Pontic yellow-legged gull or Steppe yellow-legged gull. It is a medium-sized bird with an adult body mass of 1.112 kg and a wingspan of 1.41 m. The caspian gull is a migratory omnivore of coastal habitats with a generalist lifestyle and a geographic range of 1,660,000 km². It lays 2.6 eggs per clutch, one clutch per year, incubates them for 26 days, and is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 1.02 kg – 1.28 kg |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 1.37 m – 1.45 m |
| Lifespan | 32.1 years |
| Diet | Omnivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 49 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | coastal |
| Egg incubation | 26 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 2.4 – 2.6 |
| Age at maturity | 4 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Lifestyle | Generalist |
| Migration | Migratory |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Charadriiformes
- family: Laridae
- genus: Larus
- species: *Larus cachinnans* Pallas, 1811

Synonyms: *Larus argentatus cachinnans*, *Larus cachinnans cachinnans*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the caspian gull?

The caspian gull is a bird of the family Laridae, in the order Charadriiformes and the genus Larus.

### How big is the caspian gull?

The caspian gull has an adult body mass of 1.112 kg and a wingspan of 1.41 m. Reported wingspans run from 1.37 to 1.45 m.

### What does the caspian gull eat?

The caspian gull is an omnivore, and its trophic level is listed as carnivore.

### Where does the caspian gull live?

The caspian gull lives in coastal habitats and is migratory, with a geographic range of 1,660,000 km².

### Is the caspian gull endangered?

No. The caspian gull is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

### How long does the caspian gull live?

The caspian gull has a lifespan of up to 49 years in the values reported by our sources.

### How many eggs does the caspian gull lay?

The caspian gull lays 2.6 eggs per clutch and one clutch per year, with an incubation period of 26 days. It reaches sexual maturity at 4 years.

### Who named the caspian gull?

The caspian gull, Larus cachinnans, was named by Pallas, 1811.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), CC BY 4.0, v7. Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Caspian gull (Larus cachinnans). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/caspian-gull