Yellow-footed and Heermann’s Gulls
© Paul F. Donald

Seabird Species

Gulls

A recognisable group of seabirds, found everywhere from the high seas to urban rooftops.

This group of 47 species is one of the most recognisable seabird species, despite there being no such thing as a “seagull”.

With their worldwide distribution, they breed on every continent but are less common on tropical islands. These birds range in size from the 29 cm long little gull to the 76 cm greater black-backed gull. No gull species is a single-prey specialist or uses only one foraging technique – they are a highly adaptable and opportunistic species, meaning they feed on many food types.

In The Seabird Tracking Database:
Colonies: 41
Tracks: 2,419
Points: 1,091,190
Data range: 2007 – 2017
Data holders: 18
0 47
Species Tracked
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Spotlight species: Sabine’s Gull

Sabine's Gull
© Paul F. Donald

The Sabine’s Gull (Xema sabini) has the longest migration of any gull species, covering distances of 30-40,000 km from breeding to wintering sites and back. This species also uses the NACES MPA during migration. Sabine’s Gulls perform a distraction display when threatened, pretending to be injured and leading the predator away from the nest – this is a common tactic among shorebirds, but rare among gulls.

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Please view this page on a desktop computer to see our interactive species colony map.

Tracked colonies of Gulls

Use the map below to explore seabird colonies around the world.

Thanks to our data contributors: Alice Trevail; Birdwatch Ireland; Carsten Egevang; Ellie Owen/RSPB; Francis Daunt; Gail Robertson; Iain Stenhouse; Jacob Gonzalez-Solis; Jan Veen; Jez Blackburn; Jonathan Green; Jose Manuel Arcos; Juan F. Masello; Justine Dossa; Morten Frederiksen; Petra Quillfeldt; Samantha Patrick; Willem Bouten