Common gull
Larus canus Linnaeus, 1758
The common gull (Larus canus), also called the sea mew or mew gull, is a small bird of the family Laridae in the order Charadriiformes. It is a migratory, coastal bird with a body mass of 412.5 g and a wingspan of 1.11 m.
Quick facts about the common gull
The common gull is an omnivore and lays 3 eggs per clutch, one clutch per year, with an incubation period of 24 days. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 360 g – 426.2 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 1.11 msrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 27.9 years – 33.7 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Omnivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- coastalsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 24.2 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 3src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 2 years – 2.99 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the common gull?
Photos of the common gull
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the common gull live?
Not recorded
What is the common gull?
The common gull (Larus canus) is a medium-sized gull that breeds in cool temperate regions of the Palearctic from Iceland and Scotland east to Kamchatka in the Russian Far East. Most common gulls migrate further south in winter, reaching the Mediterranean Sea, the southern Caspian Sea, and the seas around China and Japan; northwest European populations are at least partly resident. The closely related short-billed gull was formerly often included in this species, which was then sometimes known collectively as "mew gull".
From the Wikipedia article “Common gull” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Common_gull&oldid=1381653838), 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 common gull endangered?
The common gull is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the common gull classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderCharadriiformes
- familyLaridae
- genusLarus
- SpeciesLarus canus Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms Larus canus major, Larus canus stegmanni, Larus canus var. major, Larus glaucus, Larus gronlandicus, Larus maculatus, Larus niveus
Other names and names in other languages (107)
- Eurasian mew gullEnglish
- Mew gullEnglish
- Sea mewEnglish
- نورس شائعArabic
- Gavilueta CanaAsturian
- gaviota del nordésAsturian
- Boz qağayıAzerbaijani
- Күк сарлаҡBashkir
- Чайка шызаяBelarusian
- Шызая чайкаBelarusian
- Чайка буревестницаBulgarian
- Gouelan louetBreton
- gavina cendrosaCatalan
- Симсӹ колшӹреMari
- Кӑвак чарлӑкChuvash
- racek bouřníCzech
- Zwëczajnô miewaKashubian
- Gwylan GweunyddWelsh
- gwylan y gweunyddWelsh
- Gwylanod y GweunyddWelsh
- stormmågeDanish
- SturmmöweGerman
- ΘυελλόγλαροςGreek
- Griza mevoEsperanto
- cindra mevoEsperanto
- Gaviota canaSpanish
- kalakajakasEstonian
- Kaio mokohoriBasque
- Kaio mokohoriaBasque
- کاکایی نوک سبزPersian
- kalalokkiFinnish
- SkatumásiFaroese
- Goéland cendréFrench
- MeewNorthern Frisian
- UnwaarsfûgelWestern Frisian
- FaoileagScottish Gaelic
- faoileán bánScottish Gaelic
- faoileannScottish Gaelic
- faoileannanScottish Gaelic
- Gaivota canaGalician
- Foillan baneManx
- שחף אפרוריHebrew
- burni galebCroatian
- viharsirályHungarian
- Որոր թխակապույտArmenian
- NauyatchiaqInupiaq
- StormmáfurIcelandic
- gavinaItalian
- カモメJapanese
- ვეჟანი თოლიაGeorgian
- Ах хайлахkjn
- Кєк шағалаKazakh
- Көк шағалаKazakh
- 갈매기Korean
- Gwylan gemynCornish
- StuermméiwLuxembourgish
- paprastasis kirasLithuanian
- kajaksLatvian
- обичен галебMacedonian
- Siv galeb - Сив галебMacedonian
- മ്യൂ കടൽക്കാക്കMalayalam
- Gawwija sekondaMaltese
- Үүлэн цахлай - ᠡᠭᠦᠯᠡᠨ ᠴᠠᠬᠣᠯᠠᠢMongolian
- Burung Camar BalaiMalay
- stormmeeuwDutch
- fiskemåseNorwegian Nynorsk
- fiskemåkeNorwegian
- mewa siwaPolish
- mewa pospolitaPolish
- عام گلWestern Panjabi
- famegoPortuguese
- gaivota-de-bico-curtoPortuguese
- gaivota-pardaPortuguese
- Muetta da tschendraRomansh
- PescăruşRomanian
- Pescăruş surRomanian
- Pescăruș surRomanian
- pescăruşul surRomanian
- сизая чайкаRussian
- Мева голубоногаRusyn
- Алыы хоптотоYakut
- BáiskiNorthern Sami
- gádjegašNorthern Sami
- gádjitNorthern Sami
- guollebáiskiNorthern Sami
- čajka siváSlovak
- sivi galebSlovenian
- Pulëbardha e përhimëAlbanian
- pulëbardha e përhimtëAlbanian
- Sivi galeb - Сиви галебSerbian
- Сиви галебSerbian
- Cau marinuSardinian
- fiskmåsSwedish
- นกนางนวลปากเหลืองThai
- kucuk gumus MartiTurkish
- küçük gümüş martıTurkish
- Көгүлдүр ак-кускунTuvinian
- Мартин сивийUkrainian
- Мартин сизийUkrainian
- Chim Mòng bể đầu trắngVietnamese
- שטורעם־מײװYiddish
- SturmmeêuweZeelandic
- 海鷗Chinese
- 普通海鷗Chinese
- 普通海鸥Chinese
- 歐亞海鷗Chinese
- 海鸥Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the common gull
Other species in the same genus Larus.
European herring gull
Larus argentatus
Lesser black-backed gull
Larus fuscus
Great black-backed gull
Larus marinus
Caspian gull
Larus cachinnans
Glaucous gull
Larus hyperboreus
Yellow-legged gull
Larus michahellis
CompareCommon gull vs European herring gullCommon gull vs Lesser black-backed gullCommon gull vs Great black-backed gullCommon gull vs Caspian gull
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the common gull?
The common gull is a bird in the family Laridae and the order Charadriiformes. It is a migratory bird of coastal habitats.
How heavy is a common gull?
An adult common gull has a body mass of 412.5 g, with reported values from 360 g to 426.2 g. Its wingspan is 1.11 m.
What does the common gull eat?
The common gull is classed as an omnivore, with a trophic level listed as carnivore.
Is the common gull endangered?
No. The common gull is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does a common gull live?
The common gull has a lifespan of 27.9 years, and our sources report values up to 33.7 years.
How many eggs does a common gull lay?
The common gull lays 3 eggs per clutch and has 1 clutch per year. The eggs are incubated for 24 days.
When does a common gull reach sexual maturity?
The common gull reaches sexual maturity at 2.5 years, with reported values from 2 to 3 years.
Who named the common gull?
The common gull was named Larus canus by Linnaeus, 1758.
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). Common gull (Larus canus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/larus-canus
“Common gull (Larus canus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/larus-canus.
@misc{larus_canus_2026,
title = {Common gull (Larus canus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/larus-canus},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}