Little Gull

Hydrocoloeus minutus (Pallas, 1776)

Little Gull, Hydrocoloeus minutus, is a gull in the family Laridae and the order Charadriiformes. It breeds across the Palearctic, from the Baltic region of eastern and northern Europe through western Siberia and northern Kazakhstan to north-western and north-central Mongolia, with further breeding in Siberia east of Lake Baikal to the Sea of Okhotsk and north-east China. There are also rare breeding records from the Great Lakes and Hudson and James bays in eastern Canada. Outside the breeding season it occurs on coasts of the eastern North Atlantic, the North, Mediterranean, Baltic, Black and Caspian seas, and on the western North Atlantic from New England to North Carolina. It is the smallest gull in the world.

Order

Charadriiformes

Family

Laridae — Gulls, Terns, Skimmers

Breeding range

Palearctic: Baltic region of e, n Europe to w Siberia and n Kazakhstan, nw, nc Mongolia (rare); Siberia e of Lake Baikal to Sea of Okhotsk and ne China; rare Great Lakes, Hudson and James bays (ec Canada)

Nonbreeding range

e North Atlantic coasts, North, Mediterranean, Baltic, Black, and Caspian seas; w North Atlantic coast from New England to North Carolina