Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus) | Details

Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus

Current view: Data table and detailed info

Taxonomy

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.
Christidis, L. and Boles, W.E. 2008. Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, Australia.
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.
SACC. 2005 and updates. A classification of the bird species of South America. Available at: https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm.

IUCN Red List criteria met and history

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

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

Species attributes

Migratory status	full migrant	Forest dependency	does not normally occur in forest
Land-mass type		Average mass	-

Range

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	19,400,000 km²	medium
Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding)	153,000,000 km²	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

Population

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	unknown	poor	estimated	2012
Population trend	increasing	-	suspected	-
Generation length	13.9 years	-	-	-

Population justification: The global population is estimated at 940,000-2,070,000 individuals (Wetlands International 2015). The European population is estimated at 394,000-460,000 pairs, which equates to 788,000-920,000 mature individuals or 1,200,000-1,400,000 individuals (BirdLife International 2015).

Trend justification: The overall population trend is increasing, although some populations are decreasing or have unknown trends (Wetlands International 2015). The population trend is increasing in North America (based on BBS/CBC data: Butcher and Niven 2007). The European population is estimated to be increasing (BirdLife International 2015).

Country/territory distribution

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Afghanistan	extant	vagrant				yes
Albania	extant	native			yes
Algeria	extant	native
Angola	extant	native
Anguilla (to UK)	extant	native
Antigua and Barbuda	extant	native
Argentina	extant	vagrant
Aruba (to Netherlands)	extant	native
Australia	extant	uncertain
Austria	extant	native			yes
Bahamas	extant	vagrant
Bahrain	extant	native			yes	yes
Barbados	extant	native
Belarus	extant	native				yes
Belgium	extant	native	yes
Benin	extant	native
Bermuda (to UK)	extant	native
Bosnia and Herzegovina	extant	native
Botswana	extant	native
Bulgaria	extant	native			yes
Burkina Faso	extant	native
Burundi	extant	native
Cameroon	extant	native
Canada	extant	native
Cape Verde	extant	native
Central African Republic	extant	native
Chad	extant	native
Comoros	extant	native
Congo	extant	native
Congo, The Democratic Republic of the	extant	native
Côte d'Ivoire	extant	native
Croatia	extant	native			yes
Cuba	extant	vagrant
Cyprus	extant	native			yes
Czechia	extant	native
Denmark	extant	native		yes		yes
Djibouti	extant	native
Dominica	extant	native
Dominican Republic	extant	vagrant
Ecuador	extant	vagrant
Egypt	extant	native
Equatorial Guinea	extant	uncertain
Eritrea	extant	native
Estonia	extant	native	yes
Ethiopia	extant	native
Faroe Islands (to Denmark)	extant	native	yes
Finland	extant	native		yes		yes
France	extant	native	yes			yes
French Guiana	extant	native
Gabon	extant	native
Gambia	extant	native
Georgia	extant	vagrant
Germany	extant	native	yes			yes
Ghana	extant	native
Gibraltar (to UK)	extant	native			yes	yes
Greece	extant	native			yes	yes
Greenland (to Denmark)	extant	native		yes
Guadeloupe (to France)	extant	native
Guinea	extant	native
Guinea-Bissau	extant	native
Hungary	extant	native			yes
Iceland	extant	native		yes
India	extant	native			yes
Iran, Islamic Republic of	extant	native			yes	yes
Iraq	extant	native			yes	yes
Ireland	extant	native	yes
Israel	extant	native			yes	yes
Italy	extant	native			yes
Jordan	extant	native			yes	yes
Kazakhstan	extant	vagrant
Kenya	extant	native
Kuwait	extant	native			yes	yes
Kyrgyzstan	extant	native		yes
Latvia	extant	native			yes
Lebanon	extant	native			yes	yes
Liberia	extant	native
Libya	extant	native
Lithuania	extant	native			yes
Luxembourg	extant	vagrant
Malawi	extant	native
Mali	extant	native
Malta	extant	native			yes
Martinique (to France)	extant	native
Mauritania	extant	native
Mayotte (to France)	extant	native
Mexico	extant	native
Mongolia	extant	native		yes
Montenegro	extant	native
Montserrat (to UK)	extant	native
Morocco	extant	native
Mozambique	extant	native
Namibia	extant	vagrant
Netherlands	extant	native	yes
Niger	extant	native
Nigeria	extant	native
North Macedonia	extant	native			yes
Norway	extant	native		yes		yes
Oman	extant	native			yes	yes
Palestine	extant	native			yes	yes
Panama	extant	vagrant
Poland	extant	native	yes			yes
Portugal	extant	native	yes
Puerto Rico (to USA)	extant	native
Qatar	extant	native			yes
Romania	extant	native			yes	yes
Russia	extant	native		yes		yes
Russia (Central Asian)	extant	native		yes
Russia (European)	extant	native		yes		yes
Rwanda	extant	native
Saudi Arabia	extant	native			yes	yes
Senegal	extant	native
Serbia	extant	native
Seychelles	extant	vagrant
Sierra Leone	extant	native
Slovakia	extant	native			yes
Slovenia	extant	native			yes
Somalia	extant	native
South Africa	extant	native
South Sudan	extant	native				yes
Spain	extant	native	yes
Sri Lanka	extant	vagrant			yes
St Kitts and Nevis	extant	native
St Lucia	extant	native
St Pierre and Miquelon (to France)	extant	vagrant			yes	yes
St Vincent and the Grenadines	extant	native
Sudan	extant	native
Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands (to Norway)	extant	native		yes
Sweden	extant	native		yes
Switzerland	extant	native			yes
Syria	extant	native			yes	yes
Tanzania	extant	native
Togo	extant	native
Trinidad and Tobago	extant	native
Tunisia	extant	native
Türkiye	extant	native			yes
Turkmenistan	extant	native				yes
Uganda	extant	native
Ukraine	extant	native			yes	yes
United Arab Emirates	extant	native			yes	yes
United Kingdom	extant	native	yes
USA	extant	native			yes
Uzbekistan	extant	native		yes
Venezuela	extant	native
Virgin Islands (to USA)	extant	vagrant
Western Sahara	extant	native
Yemen	extant	native			yes	yes
Zambia	extant	native
Zimbabwe	extant	native

Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA)

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Denmark	Hirsholmene
Denmark	Nordre Rønner
Denmark	Ørkenen and Totten (Anholt Island)
Denmark	Stavnsfjord and adjacent waters
Finland	Archipelago of Northern Åland
Finland	Itäinen Suomenlahti National Park
Finland	Keski-Kallavesi and Kuhanen Lake
Finland	Kokkola and Kälviä archipelago
Finland	Krunnit archipelago
Finland	Merenkurkku archipelago
Finland	Oura and Enskeri archipelagos
Finland	Rahja archipelago
Finland	Uusikaarlepyy archipelago
France	Archipel de Molène
France	Archipel des Glénan
France	Baies de Morlaix et de Carantec
France	Cap Gris-nez
France	Estuaire de la Canche
France	Golfe du Morbihan et Etier de Penerf
France	Ile d'Ouessant
France	Iles Saint Marcouf
France	Jaudy et Sept-Iles
France	Littoral Augeron
Germany	Lower Saxonian North Sea off the East Frisian Islands
Germany	Lower Saxony Wadden Sea National Park
Germany	Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park (includes the Halligs, Kniepsand/Amrum, Lister Koog, Rantumbecken, Rickelsb
Gibraltar (to UK)	Strait of Gibraltar
Iceland	Rosmhvalanes - Midnesheidi
Ireland	Ballymacoda
Mauritania	Banc d'Arguin National Park
Mauritania	Cap Blanc
Morocco	Baie d'Ad Dakhla
Morocco	Dakhla area
Netherlands	Duinen en Lage Land Texel
Netherlands	Duinen Vlieland
Netherlands	Haringvliet
Netherlands	Kop van Schouwen
Netherlands	Mainland Coast
Netherlands	Oosterschelde
Netherlands	Wadden Sea
Netherlands	Westerschelde & Saeftinghe
Norway	Lista wetland system
Oman	Al Batinah coast
Oman	Barr al Hikman
Oman	Duqm
Oman	Masirah island
Oman	Ras al Hadd
Oman	Salalah Bird Sanctuary
Portugal	Albufeira do Caia
Russia (Central Asian)	Blagoveschenskaya (Kulunda lake and vicinity)
Russia (Central Asian)	Chernoye Lake
Russia (European)	Berezoviye islands of Vyborg Bay
Russia (European)	Dolgy Reef and Bol'shoi Fiskar archipelagos
Russia (European)	Lake Ayke
Russia (European)	Southern coast of the Neva bay
Spain	Cádiz bay
Spain	Cape Busto-Luanco
Spain	Cape Candelaria-Ortigueira estuary-Cape Estaca de Bares
Spain	Fuente de Piedra, Gosque and Campillos lakes
Spain	Isla Cristina and Ayamonte marshes and Prado lagoon
Spain	Pela mountain range-Orellana reservoir-Zorita
Sweden	Archipelago of Nothern Hälsingland
Sweden	Archipelago of Stockholm
Sweden	Holmöarna Archipelago
Sweden	Lövsta Bight – Björn Archipelago
United Kingdom	Alde - Ore Estuary
United Kingdom	Almorness Point and Hestan Island
United Kingdom	Bowland Fells
United Kingdom	Cardigan Island
United Kingdom	Firth of Forth Islands
United Kingdom	Horse Island
United Kingdom	Isles of Scilly
United Kingdom	Little Cumbrae Island
United Kingdom	Morecambe Bay
United Kingdom	Ribble and Alt Estuaries
United Kingdom	Severn Estuary
United Kingdom	Skokholm and Skomer
United Kingdom	Upper Solway Flats and Marshes
Yemen	Abdullah Gharib lagoons

Habitats & altitude

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine	Artificial/Aquatic - Canals and Drainage Channels, Ditches	suitable	non-breeding
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine	Artificial/Aquatic - Excavations (open)	suitable	non-breeding
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine	Artificial/Aquatic - Wastewater Treatment Areas	suitable	non-breeding
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine	Artificial/Aquatic - Water Storage Areas (over 8ha)	suitable	non-breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial	Arable Land	suitable	breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial	Arable Land	suitable	non-breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial	Pastureland	suitable	breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial	Pastureland	suitable	non-breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial	Urban Areas	suitable	breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial	Urban Areas	suitable	non-breeding
Grassland	Temperate	suitable	breeding
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	Coastal Brackish/Saline Lagoons/Marine Lakes	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	Coastal Freshwater Lakes	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	Sea Cliffs and Rocky Offshore Islands	major	breeding
Marine Intertidal	Sandy Shoreline and/or Beaches, Sand Bars, Spits, Etc	major	breeding
Marine Neritic	Estuaries	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Macroalgal/Kelp	suitable	breeding
Marine Neritic	Macroalgal/Kelp	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Pelagic	suitable	breeding
Marine Neritic	Pelagic	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Seagrass (Submerged)	suitable	breeding
Marine Neritic	Seagrass (Submerged)	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Loose Rock/pebble/gravel	suitable	breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Loose Rock/pebble/gravel	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Rock and Rocky Reefs	suitable	breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Rock and Rocky Reefs	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy	suitable	breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy-Mud	suitable	breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy-Mud	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Oceanic	Epipelagic (0-200m)	suitable	breeding
Marine Oceanic	Epipelagic (0-200m)	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Oceanic	Mesopelagic (200-1000m)	suitable	breeding
Marine Oceanic	Mesopelagic (200-1000m)	suitable	non-breeding
Wetlands (inland)	Bogs, Marshes, Swamps, Fens, Peatlands	suitable	breeding
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha)	suitable	breeding
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha)	suitable	non-breeding
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Rivers/Streams/Creeks (includes waterfalls)	suitable	breeding
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Rivers/Streams/Creeks (includes waterfalls)	suitable	non-breeding
Wetlands (inland)	Seasonal/Intermittent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha)	suitable	breeding
Wetlands (inland)	Seasonal/Intermittent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha)	suitable	non-breeding
Altitude		Occasional altitudinal limits

Threats & impact

Threat (level 1)

Threat (level 2)

Impact and Stresses

Biological resource use

Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Persecution/control

Timing

Scope

Severity

Impact

Ongoing

Minority (<50%)

Negligible declines

Low Impact: 4

Stresses
Species disturbance, Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality

Pollution

Agricultural & forestry effluents - Herbicides and pesticides

Timing

Scope

Severity

Impact

Ongoing

Minority (<50%)

Slow, Significant Declines

Low Impact: 5

Stresses
Reduced reproductive success

Utilisation

Purpose	Scale
Pets/display animals, horticulture	international
Sport hunting/specimen collecting	subsistence, national

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/lesser-black-backed-gull-larus-fuscus on 18/12/2024.
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 18/12/2024.