Larus minutus

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Habitat and Ecology

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	AVES	CHARADRIIFORMES	LARIDAE

Scientific Name:

Larus minutus

Species Authority:

Pallas, 1776

Common Name/s:

English	–	Little Gull
French	–	Mouette pygmée

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Least Concern ver 3.1

Year Published:

2009

Assessor/s:

BirdLife International

Reviewer/s:

Bird, J., Butchart, S.

Justification:
This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be increasing, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size is very large, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

History:

2008	–	Least Concern
2004	–	Least Concern

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	The Little Gull can be found breeding in northern Scandinavia, the Baltic republics and western Russia to western Siberia, in eastern Siberia, and in the Great Lakes of North America. Its distribution expands in winter to include most of the Mediterranean, Black Sea and Caspian Sea coastlines, as well as the Atlantic coast of Europe and the north-west coast of the USA¹.
Countries:	Native: Albania; Algeria; Austria; Azerbaijan; Belarus; Belgium; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Bulgaria; Canada; China; Colombia; Croatia; Cyprus; Czech Republic; Denmark; Egypt; Estonia; Finland; France; Germany; Gibraltar; Greece; Guinea-Bissau; Hungary; Iran, Islamic Republic of; Ireland; Israel; Italy; Kazakhstan; Kyrgyzstan; Latvia; Lebanon; Libyan Arab Jamahiriya; Lithuania; Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of; Malta; Mauritania; Mexico; Mongolia; Montenegro; Morocco; Netherlands; Norway; Palestinian Territory, Occupied; Poland; Portugal; Romania; Russian Federation; Russian Federation; Russian Federation; Serbia; Slovakia; Slovenia; Spain; Sweden; Switzerland; Syrian Arab Republic; Tunisia; Turkey; Turkmenistan; Ukraine; United Kingdom; United States; Uzbekistan Vagrant: Afghanistan; Angola; Bahrain; Barbados; Bermuda; Cameroon; Faroe Islands; Gabon; Gambia; Ghana; Greenland; Hong Kong; Iceland; India; Iraq; Japan; Jordan; Kenya; Kuwait; Liechtenstein; Luxembourg; Nigeria; Puerto Rico; Saint Pierre and Miquelon; Saudi Arabia; Senegal; Sierra Leone; Sudan; United Arab Emirates Present - origin uncertain: Monaco
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	Behaviour This species is fully migratory¹, usually arriving in its breeding areas from late-April to late-May² and leaving again in late-July^{2, 3} (although its movements are poorly documented)¹. The species breeds from late-Junein mixed-species colonies and subcolonies occasionally as large as 2,000 individuals, sometimes also in more solitary scattered pairs¹. After breeding the species is gregarious⁴, with groups of 10-20 individuals common at feeding or resting sites⁴, and flocks of hundreds or even thousands congregating briefly at favourable sites or during bad weather⁴. Large groups (thousands of individuals) may also gather on German lakes and wetlands to moult before migrating to wintering areas². Habitat Breeding The species breeds inland on shallow freshwater and brackish lakes^{1, 2}, river basins, marshes and bogs¹, occasionally also at coastal lagoons¹, showing a preference for habitats with lush vegetation³ and emergent or floating plants in muddy shallow water⁴. Non-breeding On migration the species occurs at sea, along shores, and on reservoirs, lagoons and lakes², wintering along the coast on sandy and muddy beaches², mouths of rivers¹ and at sea², especially at stream and sewage outlets⁴. Diet Breeding The species is mainly insectivorous when breeding, taking e.g. dragonflies, beetles, midges¹, mayflies and stoneflies³. Non-breeding On migration its diet is the same as during the breeding season (consisting mainly of insects)¹, although during the winter the species switches to a diet of small fish and marine invertebrates¹, ⁵. Breeding site The nest varies from a shallow depression^{1, 3} to a much more substantial structure depending on the situation³. Nests are sited on the ground in wet vegetation adjacent to or on shallow water^{1, 3}, floating at the edge of emergent vegetation (e.g. in reedbeds)¹, on grassy islands in freshwater shallow lakes², and occasionally also on sandbanks¹. The species breeds in colonies or subcolonies with nests spaced c.1-1.5 m apart, sometimes also in more solitary scattered pairs¹.
Systems:	Terrestrial; Freshwater; Marine

Habitat and Ecology:

Behaviour This species is fully migratory¹, usually arriving in its breeding areas from late-April to late-May² and leaving again in late-July^{2, 3} (although its movements are poorly documented)¹. The species breeds from late-Junein mixed-species colonies and subcolonies occasionally as large as 2,000 individuals, sometimes also in more solitary scattered pairs¹. After breeding the species is gregarious⁴, with groups of 10-20 individuals common at feeding or resting sites⁴, and flocks of hundreds or even thousands congregating briefly at favourable sites or during bad weather⁴. Large groups (thousands of individuals) may also gather on German lakes and wetlands to moult before migrating to wintering areas². Habitat Breeding The species breeds inland on shallow freshwater and brackish lakes^{1, 2}, river basins, marshes and bogs¹, occasionally also at coastal lagoons¹, showing a preference for habitats with lush vegetation³ and emergent or floating plants in muddy shallow water⁴. Non-breeding On migration the species occurs at sea, along shores, and on reservoirs, lagoons and lakes², wintering along the coast on sandy and muddy beaches², mouths of rivers¹ and at sea², especially at stream and sewage outlets⁴. Diet Breeding The species is mainly insectivorous when breeding, taking e.g. dragonflies, beetles, midges¹, mayflies and stoneflies³. Non-breeding On migration its diet is the same as during the breeding season (consisting mainly of insects)¹, although during the winter the species switches to a diet of small fish and marine invertebrates¹, ⁵. Breeding site The nest varies from a shallow depression^{1, 3} to a much more substantial structure depending on the situation³. Nests are sited on the ground in wet vegetation adjacent to or on shallow water^{1, 3}, floating at the edge of emergent vegetation (e.g. in reedbeds)¹, on grassy islands in freshwater shallow lakes², and occasionally also on sandbanks¹. The species breeds in colonies or subcolonies with nests spaced c.1-1.5 m apart, sometimes also in more solitary scattered pairs¹.

Systems:

Terrestrial; Freshwater; Marine

Citation:	BirdLife International 2009. Larus minutus. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 21 May 2012.
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