Grey gull
Leucophaeus modestus (Tschudi, 1843)
Status not recordedbirds
The grey gull (Leucophaeus modestus) is a species in the family Laridae, order Charadriiformes. Recorded adults weigh 329.5 g to 380 g.
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Quick facts about the grey gull
- Weight
- 329.5 g – 380 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- marinesrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1.7src for Young per litter or clutch
- Lifestyle
- Generalistsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Partialsrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Not recorded
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the grey gull live?
Not recorded
What is the grey gull?
The grey gull, also known as garuma gull (Leucophaeus modestus), is a medium-sized gull native to South America. Unusual among gulls, it breeds inland in the extremely dry Atacama Desert in northern Chile, although it is present as a non-breeding bird along much of the Pacific coast of South America.
From the Wikipedia article “Grey gull” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grey_gull&oldid=1380683112), 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 grey gull endangered?
No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.
How is the grey gull classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderCharadriiformes
- familyLaridae
- genusLeucophaeus
- SpeciesLeucophaeus modestus (Tschudi, 1843)
Synonyms Larus modestus
Other names and names in other languages (38)
- Gray gullEnglish
- نورس رماديArabic
- Сива чайкаBulgarian
- gavina grisaCatalan
- racek tmavýCzech
- racek pouštníCzech
- Gwylan lwydWelsh
- AtacamamågeDanish
- GraumöweGerman
- griza mevoEsperanto
- Gaviota GrisSpanish
- Gaviota garumaSpanish
- Gaviota ToreroSpanish
- kõrbekajakasEstonian
- کاکایی خاکستریPersian
- aavikkolokkiFinnish
- Goéland grisFrench
- sivi galebCroatian
- sivatagi sirályHungarian
- Gabbiano grigioItalian
- Gabbiano modestoItalian
- ハイイロカモメJapanese
- pilkasis kirasLithuanian
- Tónteel tsídii łibáhígííNavajo
- grijze meeuwDutch
- ørkenmåkeNorwegian
- mewa szaraPolish
- gaivota-cinzentaPortuguese
- gaivota-cinzenta-meridionalPortuguese
- Серая чайкаRussian
- čajka púšťováSlovak
- Sivi mali galebSerbian
- ökenmåsSwedish
- Kül Rengi MartıTurkish
- мартин сірийUkrainian
- Mòng biển xámVietnamese
- 灰鷗Chinese
- 灰鸥Chinese
Relatives of the grey gull
Other species in the same genus Leucophaeus.
Laughing gull
Leucophaeus atricilla
Franklin's gull
Leucophaeus pipixcan
Lava gull
Leucophaeus fuliginosus
Dolphin gull
Leucophaeus scoresbii
CompareGrey gull vs Laughing gullGrey gull vs Franklin's gullGrey gull vs Lava gullGrey gull vs Dolphin gull
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the grey gull?
An adult grey gull weighs 329.5 g – 380 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
What kind of animal is the grey gull?
The grey gull (Leucophaeus modestus) 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.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · 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 · 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 · 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 · 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 · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · 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).
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.
CreatureData. (2026). Grey gull (Leucophaeus modestus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/grey-gull
“Grey gull (Leucophaeus modestus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/grey-gull.
@misc{grey_gull_2026,
title = {Grey gull (Leucophaeus modestus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/grey-gull},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}