#0567 · 🐦 birds
Lesser Black-backed Gull
🇳🇱 Kleine Mantelmeeuw ·Larus fuscus
10 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences
- 1. © Niall Perrins · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 2. © JoshExistsToo · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 3. © zametnya · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 4. © Valia Pavlou · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 5. © Олена Фоміна · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 6. © Cody Delano · CC BY 4.0
- 7. © Bardrock · CC BY-SA 4.0
- 8. © Michael Orgill · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 9. © Pavel Shukov · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 10. © Donald Davesne · CC BY 4.0
what is it?
The lesser black-backed gull ( Larus fuscus ) is a large gull that breeds on the Atlantic coasts of Europe. It is migratory, wintering from the British Isles south to West Africa. It is a regular winter visitor to the east coast of North America, probably from the breeding population in Iceland.
base stats
Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).
fun facts
- Spotted 2,056 times in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: the #36 most seen of the birds in NL.
- 68,640 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
- Weighs only about 880 g.
- Scientifically named in 1758 (268 years ago).
fact sheet
- English
- Lesser Black-backed Gull
- Nederlands
- Kleine Mantelmeeuw
- scientific name
- Larus fuscus
- class
- Aves
- order
- Charadriiformes
- family
- Laridae
- IUCN Red List
- LC · least concern
- sightings in NL
- 2,056
- sightings in Europe
- 33,752
- sightings worldwide
- 68,640
- GBIF records in NL
- 1,463,317
- weight
- 880 g
- length
- —
- lifespan
- —
- named
- 1758
IUCN in Dutch: niet bedreigd. Blank means the sources don't say.
relatives· Laridae
#0538 📷 10Black-headed Gull
🇳🇱 Kokmeeuw
Chroicocephalus ridibundus
LC 👀 5k in NL
#0540 📷 9European Herring Gull
🇳🇱 Zilvermeeuw
Larus argentatus
LC 👀 4.4k in NL
#0573 📷 10Common Tern
🇳🇱 Visdief
Sterna hirundo
LC 👀 1.7k in NL
#0581 📷 10Common Gull
🇳🇱 Stormmeeuw
Larus canus
LC 👀 1.4k in NL
#0613 📷 9Great Black-backed Gull
🇳🇱 Grote Mantelmeeuw
Larus marinus
LC 👀 632 in NL
#0625 📷 9Sandwich Tern
🇳🇱 Grote Stern
Thalasseus sandvicensis
LC 👀 466 in NL
#0648 📷 9Caspian Gull
🇳🇱 Pontische Meeuw
Larus cachinnans
LC 👀 299 in NL
#0664 📷 9Mediterranean Gull
🇳🇱 Zwartkopmeeuw
Ichthyaetus melanocephalus
LC 👀 238 in NL
Sources: iNaturalist taxon 4381, Wikidata Q27160, GBIF 2481174, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.