Common Gull

Common Gull

Larus canus

Silhouette: Sharon Wegner-Larsen · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Kazan

In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%

6 Verified sightings at Kazan
5,927 In all 12 parks From 2019 to 2026
November Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Common Gull

The common gull (Larus canus) is a 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".

The common gull was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the current binomial name Larus canus. Linnaeus specified the type locality as Europe but this is now restricted to Sweden. The genus name is a Latin word for a seabird, probably a gull. The specific epithet canus is also Latin and means "grey". The name "common gull" was coined by Thomas Pennant in 1768 because he considered it the most numerous of its genus. John Ray earlier used the name common sea-mall.

There are many old British regional names for this species, typically variations on maa, mar, and mew. The original English... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:44

Sweden · 2022

© Marc Anderson · XC1080437 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Song0:35

Netherlands · 2018

© Maarten Sluijter · XC859064 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Alarm call1:11

Sweden · 2022

© Esperanza Poveda · XC822454 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Wadden Sea National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
~50%
2 Cairngorms National Park 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~20%
3 Snowdonia National Park 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~10%
4 Kiskunság National Park 🇭🇺 Hungary
~10%
5 Vatnajokull National Park 🇮🇸 Iceland
~10%
6 Hortobágy National Park 🇭🇺 Hungary
~10%
7 Fertő-Hanság National Park 🇭🇺 Hungary
~10%
8 Gauja National Park 🇱🇻 Latvia
<5%
9 Biebrza National Park 🇵🇱 Poland
<5%
10 Białowieża National Park 🇵🇱 Poland
<5%
11 Sierra de Guadarrama National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
<5%
12 Bavarian Forest National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Helsinki 🇫🇮 Finland
~60%
2 Liverpool 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~50%
3 Stockholm 🇸🇪 Sweden
~50%
4 Nizhny Novgorod 🇷🇺 Russia
~50%
5 Copenhagen 🇩🇰 Denmark
~40%
6 Warsaw 🇵🇱 Poland
~30%
7 Novosibirsk 🇷🇺 Russia
~20%
8 Moscow 🇷🇺 Russia
~20%
9 Dublin 🇮🇪 Ireland
~20%
10 Hamburg 🇩🇪 Germany
~20%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Zhuhai Chimelong Ocean Kingdom 🇨🇳 China In captivity
2 Chimelong Spaceship 🇨🇳 China In captivity
3 Royev Ruchey Zoo 🇷🇺 Russia In captivity
4 Ecomare 🇳🇱 Netherlands In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Common Gull in Kazan?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Common Gull sighting in Kazan on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 72nd most-seen of the 85 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Common Gull in Kazan?

July–August and November

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Common Gull in Kazan on a given day, against under 5% in December to June, the lowest months. September and October have too few records to rate.

What time of day is best to see a Common Gull?

Between 11 am and 2 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Common Gull sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Kazan the best place to see a Common Gull?

30th of 51

Of the 51 cities where we can rate Common Gull sightings, Kazan ranks 30th at under 5%. The best odds are in Helsinki (Finland, about 60%), Liverpool (United Kingdom, about 50%) and Stockholm (Sweden, about 50%).

Which relatives of the Common Gull live in Kazan?

Same family: Laridae

The closest relatives of the Common Gull that you can see in Kazan (family Laridae, Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers) are Black-headed Gull (about 30%) and Common Tern (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Common Gull sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Common Gull is recorded against all the birds logged in Kazan (6 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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