Lesser Black-backed Gull

Utah Winter Gulls

by Dennis Shirley

     Lesser Black-backed Gull (similar species)

Adult Lesser Black-backed - dark gray mantle, pale yellow to bright orange-yellow legs,
looks distinctively long-winged at rest, black wing tips with 1 or 2 white spots on the outermost
primaries contrast with the dark gray mantle
Photo by Kendall Brown ©Kendall W. Brown

Adult - yellow bill with a large red spot
Photo by Kendall Brown ©Kendall W. Brown

Winter Adult - white head acquires heavy streaking
and a dark smudge around the pale yellowish-gray eyes
Photo by Paul Higgins ©Paul Higgins

Juvenile - pink legs and black bill, black tail band and wing tips
by Kendall Brown ©Kendall W. Brown

Juvenile - black bill, mostly dark flight feathers and tail band,
fairly light splotchy back (gets dark by early second spring)
by Kendall Brown ©Kendall W. Brown

1st Spring - The juvenile's pink legs and black bill may be retained for 2 years.
Most immature birds acquire dark gray backs by early in their second spring.
by Rick Fridell ©Rick Fridell

1st Spring - most have all dark outer wing and 2 dark bars on the inner
wing formed by the secondaries and greater secondary coverts.
by Rick Fridell ©Rick Fridell

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Similar Species

Herring Gulls - are larger, have pink legs, a shorter-winged appearance at rest. Adult and subadult Herring Gulls have a light gray mantle; Immatures have pale inner primaries and greater secondary coverts.
Lesser Black-backed Gulls have a dark gray mantle that is easy to distinguish from the light gray of Herring and Ring-billed Gulls and the dull black of the Great Black-backed Gull. Lesser Black-backeds looks distinctively long-winged at rest and has a bill typically thinner than Herring Gulls, without any marked expansion at the tip.

Great Black-backed Gulls - are much larger, have pink legs, and a black mantle; The head is unstreaked in the winter.

Western Gull - The dark subspecies of Western Gull has pink legs, amber -yellow eyes. has larger bodies, an unsteaked head in winter; longer and much stouter bill that has tip that is bulbous above and sharply angled below.

Yellow-footed Gulls - have lemon yellow eye, a large body, an unstreaked head in winter; longer and stouter bill that has tip that is bulbous above and sharply angled below.

Breeding Adult Herring - is larger, with pink legs, shorter-winged appearance at rest.
Adult and subadult Herring Gulls have light gray mantle.
Photo by Merrill Webb ©Merrill Webb

Breeding Adult Great Black-backed - much larger, has pink legs, black mantle;
head unstreaked in winter
Photo by Mike Ware Copyright 2004 Mike Ware

Winter Adult Western - Dark subspecies of Western has pink legs, amber -yellow eyes,
has larger bodies, unsteaked head in winter; longer and much stouter bill
has tip bulbous above and sharply angled below
by Paul Higgins ©Paul Higgins

Yellow-footed Gull - Western (above) has lemon yellow eye, large body, unstreaked head in winter;
longer and much stouter bill has tip bulbous above and sharply angled below.
by Mark Stevenson ©Mark M. Stevenson