Lesser Black-backed Gull

The Lesser Black-backed Gull is much smaller than the Greater Black-backed Gull with a slimmer build, yellow rather than pinkish legs and smaller white "mirrors" at the wing tips. The adults have black or dark grey wings (depending on the race) and back and the bill is yellow with a red spot. The head is greyer in winter unlike the Greater Black-backed Gull. Young birds have scaly black-brown upperparts and a neat wing pattern and take 4 years to reach maturity.

The Lesser Black-backed Gull breeds colonially on coasts and lakes on the Atlantic coasts of Europe. It is migratory and winters from the UK south to west Africa. It is a regular winter visitor to the east coast of north America, probably from the breeding population in Iceland.

Like most gulls, the Lesser Black-backed Gull is an omnivore and it eats fish, molluscs, crustaceans, small mammals, small birds, chicks, eggs, scraps, offal and carrion.

Date: 9th June 2015

Location: Tjörnin, Reykjavík, Iceland