Hybridisation in gulls

Hybridisation in gulls occurs quite frequently, although to varying degrees depending on the species involved.

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Hybrid large white-headed gulls

• Herring Gull and Lesser Black-backed Gull interbreed to a limited degree where their ranges overlap, producing birds of intermediate appearance, which could be confused with Yellow-legged Gulls.

• Western Gull and Glaucous-winged Gull hybridise extensively in western North America, but retain their resective identities as separate species; the mechanism for this is not known with certainty.

Hybrids among the small hooded gulls

• The most common hybrid found among gulls in Europe is between Black-headed Gull and Mediterranean Gull. Hybrids of this combination are occasionally reported on the northwestern edge of the breeding range of Mediterranean Gull.

• Birds have also been reported in Europe which have been suspected of being Mediterranean Gull × Common Gull hybrids; one such bird gull seen in Lincolnshire in 2002 (Tarrant 2002)

• A bird seen in December 2001 at Belhaven Bay, Lothian, and present each winter since (until at least 2005/6) is believed to be a hybrid between Black-headed and Common Gulls (Gillon 2006)

References

• Tarrant, Mike (2002) An apparent hybrid gull in Lincolnshire Birding World Vol. 15 No. 6 p247
• Gillon, Keith (2006) An apparent hybrid gull at Belhaven Bay, Lothian Birding Scotland Vol. 9 No. 2 p92

Bird Hybrids Database

You can search for specific laridae hybrids at:

• Bird Hybrids Database

Enter the name of the gull species in the query box and click on the hybrids for specific references.