# Little gull (*Hydrocoloeus minutus*)

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

The little gull (Hydrocoloeus minutus) is a bird in the family Laridae and the order Charadriiformes. It is a small bird with an adult body mass of 118 g, with reported values from 98 g to 118.5 g, and a wingspan of 78 cm. The little gull is a carnivorous aquatic predator of coastal habitats and is partially migratory. It lays one clutch of 2.9 eggs per year, incubates the eggs for 22 days, and reaches sexual maturity at 1.7 years.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 98 g – 118.5 g |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 78 cm |
| Lifespan | 20.9 years |
| Diet | Aquatic predator |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 20.9 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | coastal |
| Egg incubation | 22 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 2.4 – 2.88 |
| Age at maturity | 18 months – 2 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Lifestyle | Generalist |
| Migration | Partial |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Charadriiformes
- family: Laridae
- genus: Hydrocoloeus
- species: *Hydrocoloeus minutus* (Pallas, 1776)

Synonyms: *Larus minutus*

## Common questions

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

The little gull is a bird in the family Laridae, order Charadriiformes. Its size class is small.

### How heavy is the little gull?

An adult Little gull weighs 118 g, with reported values from 98 g to 118.5 g. Its wingspan is 78 cm.

### What does the little gull eat?

The little gull is an aquatic predator and a carnivore.

### What habitat does the little gull use?

The little gull uses coastal habitats. It is partially migratory.

### Is the little gull endangered?

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

### How long does the little gull live?

The little gull has a lifespan of 20.9 years, with values reported up to 20.9 years.

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

The little gull lays 2.9 eggs per clutch and one clutch per year. Incubation lasts 22 days.

### Who named the little gull?

The little gull, Hydrocoloeus minutus, was named by (Pallas, 1776).

## 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: Little gull (Hydrocoloeus minutus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/little-gull