Data Zone
Taxonomic source(s)
AERC TAC. 2003. AERC TAC Checklist of bird taxa occurring in Western Palearctic region, 15th Draft. Available at: http://www.aerc.eu/DOCS/Bird_taxa_of_the_WP15.xls.
Cramp, S. and Simmons, K.E.L. (eds). 1977-1994. Handbook of the birds of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The birds of the western Palearctic. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.
| Critically Endangered | Endangered | Vulnerable |
|---|---|---|
| - | - | - |
| Year | Category | Criteria |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Least Concern | |
| 2016 | Least Concern | |
| 2012 | Least Concern | |
| 2009 | Least Concern | |
| 2008 | Least Concern | |
| 2004 | Least Concern | |
| 2000 | Lower Risk/Least Concern | |
| 1994 | Lower Risk/Least Concern | |
| 1988 | Lower Risk/Least Concern |
| Migratory status | full migrant | Forest dependency | does not normally occur in forest |
| Land-mass type | Average mass | - |
| Estimate | Data quality | |
|---|---|---|
| Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident) | 33,500,000 km2 | medium |
| Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding) | 27,900,000 km2 | medium |
| Severely fragmented? | no | - |
| Estimate | Data quality | Derivation | Year of estimate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population size | unknown | poor | estimated | 2012 |
| Population trend | unknown | - | suspected | - |
| Generation length | 12 years | - | - | - |
Population justification: The European population is estimated at 118,000-133,000 pairs, which equates to 237,000-266,000 mature individuals or 360,000-400,000 individuals (BirdLife International 2015). Combining the European population estimate with that for the north-west Atlantic population in Wetlands International (2015) gives a global estimate of 690,000-940,000 individuals. It is therefore placed in the band 500,000-999,999 individuals.
Trend justification: Historically, the species underwent a marked population increase and range expansion southwards between the 1930s and 1975, as well as spreading north to Spitsbergen. In the Nearctic, the breeding range has also extended southwards since the mid-20th century; it first bred in Maine in 1928, Massachusetts in 1931, New York in 1940, the Great Lakes in 1954, and New Jersey in 1966. In New England the population increased from 30 pairs in 1930 to 12,400 in 1972 (Burger et al. 2018). Over the last 50 years, the population in North America has been decreasing at about 29.7% over three generations (36 years), but the estimate yields large uncertainties (data from Christmas Bird Count, T. Meehan in litt. 2018). Also in some northern European countries, the species is in decline; however, these declines are relatively short-term adjustments. Recent trend estimates for the UK indicate that over the past three generations, overall declines are of a far smaller magnitude than between 2000 and 2012 (JNCC 2018). These short-term declines do not appear to be continuing (JNCC 2018). Similarly, while the trend in Sweden between 2001 and 2011 was estimated as a decline of between 20-50%, the long term (1980-2011) trend was stable: the population increased to the 1990s, then stabilised prior to the decline. Using the trend that most closely matches the three generation length, reduces the estimate of the current rate of decline to 23.6%. Recent declines observed in offshore populations on the North Sea and Baltic Sea are not reflected in analogous trends at the breeding sites and may indicate a shift in the distribution or habitat use (Markones et al. 2015, N. Markones in litt. 2018).
| Country/Territory | Presence | Origin | Resident | Breeding visitor | Non-breeding visitor | Passage migrant |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Algeria | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Anguilla (to UK) | extant | native | ||||
| Antigua and Barbuda | extant | native | ||||
| Aruba (to Netherlands) | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Austria | extant | native | yes | |||
| Bahamas | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Barbados | extant | native | ||||
| Belarus | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Belgium | extant | native | yes | |||
| Belize | extant | native | ||||
| Bermuda (to UK) | extant | native | ||||
| Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba (to Netherlands) | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Bulgaria | extant | native | yes | |||
| Canada | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Croatia | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Cuba | extant | native | ||||
| Curaçao (to Netherlands) | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Cyprus | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Czechia | extant | native | ||||
| Denmark | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Dominica | extant | native | ||||
| Dominican Republic | extant | native | ||||
| Egypt | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Estonia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Faroe Islands (to Denmark) | extant | native | yes | |||
| Finland | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| France | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Germany | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Gibraltar (to UK) | extant | native | ||||
| Greece | extant | native | yes | |||
| Greenland (to Denmark) | extant | native | yes | |||
| Guadeloupe (to France) | extant | native | ||||
| Haiti | extant | native | ||||
| Hungary | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Iceland | extant | native | yes | |||
| India | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Iran, Islamic Republic of | extant | vagrant | yes | |||
| Ireland | extant | native | yes | |||
| Israel | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Italy | extant | native | ||||
| Kazakhstan | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Latvia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Lebanon | extant | native | yes | |||
| Lithuania | extant | native | yes | |||
| Luxembourg | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Martinique (to France) | extant | native | ||||
| Mauritania | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Montenegro | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Montserrat (to UK) | extant | native | ||||
| Morocco | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Netherlands | extant | native | yes | |||
| North Macedonia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Norway | extant | native | yes | |||
| Poland | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Portugal | extant | native | yes | |||
| Puerto Rico (to USA) | extant | native | ||||
| Romania | extant | native | yes | |||
| Russia | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Russia (European) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Serbia | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Sint Maarten (to Netherlands) | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Slovakia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Slovenia | extant | vagrant | yes | |||
| Spain | extant | native | yes | |||
| St Kitts and Nevis | extant | native | ||||
| St Lucia | extant | native | ||||
| St Pierre and Miquelon (to France) | extant | native | yes | |||
| St Vincent and the Grenadines | extant | native | ||||
| Sweden | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Switzerland | extant | native | yes | |||
| Syria | extant | vagrant | yes | |||
| Tunisia | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Türkiye | extant | vagrant | ||||
| United Kingdom | extant | native | yes | |||
| USA | extant | native | yes | |||
| Venezuela | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Virgin Islands (to USA) | extant | vagrant |
| Habitat (level 1) | Habitat (level 2) | Importance | Occurrence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | Coastal Sand Dunes | suitable | breeding |
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | Sea Cliffs and Rocky Offshore Islands | major | breeding |
| Marine Intertidal | Rocky Shoreline | suitable | breeding |
| Marine Intertidal | Sandy Shoreline and/or Beaches, Sand Bars, Spits, Etc | suitable | non-breeding |
| Marine Intertidal | Sandy Shoreline and/or Beaches, Sand Bars, Spits, Etc | suitable | breeding |
| Marine Intertidal | Shingle and/or Pebble Shoreline and/or Beaches | suitable | non-breeding |
| Marine Intertidal | Shingle and/or Pebble Shoreline and/or Beaches | suitable | breeding |
| Marine Intertidal | Tidepools | suitable | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Estuaries | suitable | non-breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Macroalgal/Kelp | suitable | non-breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Macroalgal/Kelp | suitable | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Pelagic | suitable | non-breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Pelagic | suitable | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Seagrass (Submerged) | suitable | non-breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Seagrass (Submerged) | suitable | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Loose Rock/pebble/gravel | suitable | non-breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Loose Rock/pebble/gravel | suitable | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Rock and Rocky Reefs | suitable | non-breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Rock and Rocky Reefs | suitable | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Sandy | suitable | non-breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Sandy | suitable | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Sandy-Mud | suitable | non-breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Sandy-Mud | suitable | breeding |
| Altitude | Occasional altitudinal limits |
| Threat (level 1) | Threat (level 2) | Impact and Stresses | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biological resource use | Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources - Unintentional effects: (large scale) [harvest] | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Slow, Significant Declines | Low Impact: 5 | ||||||
|
|||||||||
| Purpose | Scale |
|---|---|
| Pets/display animals, horticulture | international |
| Sport hunting/specimen collecting | subsistence, national |
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Great Black-backed Gull Larus marinus. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/great-black-backed-gull-larus-marinus on 23/11/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 23/11/2024.