The great black-backed gull was one of the many species originally described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae, and it still bears its original name of Larus marinus. The scientific name is … See more

This species can be found breeding in coastal areas from the extreme northwest portion of Russia, through much of coastal Scandinavia, … See more

Great black-backed gulls are opportunistic feeders, apex predators, and are very curious. They will investigate any small organism they encounter and will readily eat almost anything … See more

This is a relatively long-lived bird. The maximum recorded age for a wild great black-backed gull is 27.1 years. This species is rarely kept in captivity, but domestically kept European herring gulls have been known to live for over 44 years and generally larger … See more

This is the largest gull in the world, considerably larger than a herring gull (Larus argentatus). Only a few other gulls, including Pallas's gull (Ichthyaetus ichthyaetus) and glaucous gull (Larus hyperboreus), come close to matching this species' size. It is … See more

This species breeds singly or in small colonies, sometimes in the middle of a Larus argentatus colony. Young adult pair formation occurs in March or April. The following spring the same birds usually form a pair again, meeting at the previous year's nest. If one of … See more

Historically, the great black-backed gull was harvested for its feathers, which were used in the hat-making trade, and this species was … See more