Common Gull

The Common Gull or sea mew (Larus canus) is a medium-sized gull that breeds in the Palearctic, northern Europe. The closely related short-billed gull is sometimes included in this species, which may be known collectively as "mew gull". Both common and short-billed gulls breed in large colonies close to water or in marshes, building-lined nests on the ground or in small trees. They are omnivores, like the majority of gulls, and will both scavenge and hunt small prey.

Common gulls are smaller than herring gulls and ring-billed gulls, measuring 40 to 46 cm in length as adults. It also differs from the ring-billed gull by having a shorter, more tapered bill that is unmarked during the breeding season and has a more greenish-yellow hue. The body is white below and grayish above. In the breeding season, the legs are yellow; in the winter, they become duller. In winter, the head is streaked grey and the bill often has a poorly defined blackish band near the tip, which is sometimes sufficiently obvious to cause confusion with the ring-billed gull. They have black wingtips with large white "mirrors" on the outer primaries p9 and p10, which are smaller than those in the short-billed gull.