CreatureData

Dolphin gull

Leucophaeus scoresbii (Traill, 1823)

LCLeast Concernbirds

The dolphin gull (Leucophaeus scoresbii) is a species in the family Laridae, order Charadriiformes. Recorded adults weigh 498.8 g to 550.5 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Dolphin gull (Leucophaeus scoresbii)
Photo: Cláudio Dias Timm · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the dolphin gull

Weight
498.8 g – 550.5 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Wingspan
1.04 m – 1.1 msrc for Wingspan
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Omnivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
marinesrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
2src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Partialsrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

How big is the dolphin gull?

DOLPHIN GULL · WINGSPAN 1.1 MADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 1.1 m, the recorded maximum wingspan of the dolphin gull is about 65% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Where does the dolphin gull live?

Not recorded

What is the dolphin gull?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The dolphin gull (Leucophaeus scoresbii), sometimes erroneously called the red-billed gull (a somewhat similar but unrelated species from New Zealand), is a gull native to southern Chile and Argentina, and the Falkland Islands. It is a coastal bird inhabiting rocky, muddy and sandy shores and is often found around seabird colonies. They have greyish feathers, and the feathers on their wings are a darker shade. Dolphin gulls have a varied diet, eating many things ranging from mussels to carrion.

The modern scientific name Leucophaeus scoresbii, together with the obsolete common name Scoresby's gull, commemorates the English explorer William Scoresby (1789–1857).

From the Wikipedia article “Dolphin gull” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dolphin_gull&oldid=1314196962), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the dolphin gull endangered?

The dolphin gull is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the dolphin gull classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderCharadriiformes
  5. familyLaridae
  6. genusLeucophaeus
  7. SpeciesLeucophaeus scoresbii (Traill, 1823)

Synonyms Gabianus scoresbii, Gabianus scoresbii, Gabianus scoresbyi, Larus haematorhynchus, Larus scoresbii, Larus scoresbii, Larus scoresbii

Other names and names in other languages (42)
  • Magellan gullEnglish
  • Scoresby's gullEnglish
  • نورس الدلفينArabic
  • Делфинова чайкаBulgarian
  • gavina de MagallanesCatalan
  • racek magellanskýCzech
  • Gwylan MagellanWelsh
  • MagellanmågeDanish
  • BlutschnabelmöweGerman
  • DelfinmöweGerman
  • magelana mevoEsperanto
  • Gaviota patagonaSpanish
  • Gaviota australSpanish
  • Gaviota grisSpanish
  • röövkajakasEstonian
  • کاکایی دلفینPersian
  • patagonianlokkiFinnish
  • Goéland de ScoresbyFrench
  • mageljanski galebCroatian
  • Մագելանի որորArmenian
  • Gabbiano dei delfiniItalian
  • Gabbiano di MagellanoItalian
  • マゼランカモメJapanese
  • magelaninis kirasLithuanian
  • Tónteel tsídii bidaaʼ kʼíjíchiiʼígííNavajo
  • dolfijnmeeuwDutch
  • Magellaan MeeuwDutch
  • magellanmåkeNorwegian
  • mewa magellańskaPolish
  • gaivota-golfinhoPortuguese
  • gaivota-patagónicaPortuguese
  • gaivota-patagônicaPortuguese
  • Магелланова чайкаRussian
  • čajka delfíniaSlovak
  • Delfinski galebSerbian
  • delfinmåsSwedish
  • Yunus MartısıTurkish
  • мартин магеланськийUkrainian
  • Mòng biển cá heoVietnamese
  • 豚鷗Chinese
  • 海豚鷗Chinese
  • 豚鸥Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the dolphin gull

Other species in the same genus Leucophaeus.

VU, Vulnerable
Lava gull (Leucophaeus fuliginosus)

Lava gull

Leucophaeus fuliginosus

Laridae

CompareDolphin gull vs Laughing gullDolphin gull vs Franklin's gullDolphin gull vs Lava gullDolphin gull vs Grey gull

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the dolphin gull?

An adult dolphin gull weighs 498.8 g – 550.5 g and has a wingspan of 1.04 m – 1.1 m, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the dolphin gull endangered?

The dolphin gull is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the dolphin gull?

The dolphin gull (Leucophaeus scoresbii) belongs to the family Laridae in the order Charadriiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

Embed a card for this animal on your own site

Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.

Preview the card

APA

CreatureData. (2026). Dolphin gull (Leucophaeus scoresbii). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/dolphin-gull

MLA

“Dolphin gull (Leucophaeus scoresbii).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/dolphin-gull.

BibTeX
@misc{dolphin_gull_2026,
  title = {Dolphin gull (Leucophaeus scoresbii)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/dolphin-gull},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}