Pacific Gull
Pacific Gull
58-66 cm; span 1.3-1.5 m. Note the massive yellow bill, broadly tipped scarlet; yellow legs; upperwings and wingtips wholly black with narrow white inner trailing edge; white tail crossed by broad black subterminal band. Beware: some moulting adults in autumn have stumpy, all-white tails. Juvenile: dark brown; bill glossy black; eye dark; legs grey-brown. Immature: Year 2: forehead paler brown; pale margins to feathers form large ovals; rump paler; tail darker; bill horn-coloured with dark brown tip; eye and legs grey-brown. Year 3: forehead whiter; tail nearly black; rump whitish; bill cream with dark tip; eye white; legs yellowish. Year 4: like smutty adult. Singles, pairs, occasional loose companies: flies or sails steadily, high along tidelines; rises vertically 10-15 m in wind to drop molluscs on rocks, sand; follows fishing boats.
- Other name
- Mollyhawk.
- Similar Species
- Kelp Gull; Brown Skua.
- Voice
- shouted 'ow! ow!'; muffled 'auk, auk'; gruff chuckles; whining stutters.
- Habitat
- coasts, bays, offshore islands, coastal farmland, swamps, garbage tips; some follow rivers inland.
- Breeding
- Sept.-Dec., in pairs, loose colonies, on offshore islands.
- Nest
- cup of sticks, stalks, grasses, in elevated position.
- Eggs
- 2-3; olive-brown, blotched brown, grey.
- Range & Status
- s. coastal Aust., from c. Sydney (NSW), Tas., w. to Carnarvon Ras. (WA); casual further n. Breeds offshore islands in s. Vic.; e. to Furneaux Group (Bass Strait); Tas., s. SA, s. WA, n. to Shark Bay (WA). Adults sedentary; young dispersive.
- Distribution key to races
- 1. Larus pacificus pacificus 2. Larus pacificus georgii
