Large White-headed Gulls
Larus
Larus is a large genus of gulls with worldwide distribution (although by far the greatest species diversity is in the Northern Hemisphere). The genus name is from Ancient Greek laros (λάῥος) or Latin Larus which appears to have referred to a gull or other large seabird.
54 branches of this genus, most-observed first · about 25 known species
Ring-billed Gull
speciesLarus delawarensis
American Herring Gull
speciesLarus smithsonianus
European Herring Gull
speciesLarus argentatus
Western Gull
speciesLarus occidentalis
Yellow-legged Gull
speciesLarus michahellis
Lesser Black-backed Gull
speciesLarus fuscus
Great Black-backed Gull
speciesLarus marinus
Common Gull
speciesLarus canus
California Gull
speciesLarus californicus
Kelp Gull
speciesLarus dominicanus
Heermann's Gull
speciesLarus heermanni
Glaucous-winged Gull
speciesLarus glaucescens
Caspian Gull
speciesLarus cachinnans
Olympic Gull
hybridLarus glaucescens × occidentalis
Short-billed Gull
speciesLarus brachyrhynchus
Iceland Gull
speciesLarus glaucoides
Black-tailed Gull
speciesLarus crassirostris
Glaucous Gull
speciesLarus hyperboreus
Pacific Gull
speciesLarus pacificus
Yellow-footed Gull
speciesLarus livens
Slaty-backed Gull
speciesLarus schistisagus
Vega Gull
speciesLarus vegae
Mongolian Gull
speciesLarus mongolicus
Belcher's Gull
speciesLarus belcheri
Armenian Gull
speciesLarus armenicus
Cook Inlet Gull
hybridLarus smithsonianus × glaucescens
Olrog's Gull
speciesLarus atlanticus
Nelson's Gull
hybridLarus smithsonianus × hyperboreus
Seward Gull
hybridLarus glaucescens × hyperboreus
Appledore Gull
hybridLarus smithsonianus × fuscus
Great Lakes Gull
hybridLarus smithsonianus × marinus
European Herring Gull × Caspian Gull
hybridLarus argentatus × cachinnans
Viking Gull
hybridLarus argentatus × hyperboreus
Chandeleur Gull
hybridLarus dominicanus × smithsonianus
Commander Gull
hybridLarus schistisagus × glaucescens
European Herring × Lesser Black-backed Gull
hybridLarus argentatus × fuscus
Yellow-legged × Caspian Gull
hybridLarus michahellis × cachinnans
Ring-billed × California Gull
hybridLarus delawarensis × californicus
Glaucous × Great Black-backed Gull
hybridLarus hyperboreus × marinus
Slaty-backed × Glaucous Gull
hybridLarus schistisagus × hyperboreus
Ring-billed × American Herring Gull
hybridLarus delawarensis × smithsonianus
European Herring × Great Black-backed Gull
hybridLarus argentatus × marinus
Vega × Glaucous Gull
hybridLarus vegae × hyperboreus
Vega × Slaty-backed Gull
hybridLarus vegae × schistisagus
American Herring × Iceland Gull
hybridLarus smithsonianus × glaucoides
American Herring × California Gull
hybridLarus smithsonianus × californicus
Yellow-legged × Great Black-backed Gull
hybridLarus michahellis × marinus
Lesser Black-backed × Yellow-legged Gull
hybridLarus fuscus × michahellis
Common × Ring-billed Gull
hybridLarus canus × delawarensis
Common × Lesser Black-backed Gull
hybridLarus canus × fuscus
Lesser Black-backed × Iceland Gull
hybridLarus fuscus × glaucoides
Larus delawarensis × fuscus
hybridLarus delawarensis × fuscus
Short-billed × Ring-billed Gull
hybridLarus brachyrhynchus × delawarensis
European Herring × Yellow-legged Gull
hybridLarus argentatus × michahellis
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the old herbals & bestiaries
Historiae Animalium Liber III: De Avium Natura
Conrad Gesner · 1555 · p.607
The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands, Vol. 1
Mark Catesby · 1777 · p.284
Herbarius
1485 · p.300
History of Animals, Book I: On Viviparous Quadrupeds
Conrad Gessner · 1554 · p.752
The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands, Vol. 1
Mark Catesby · 1777 · p.287
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Larus in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 4343.