Black-tailed Gull

Overview

The black-tailed gull (Larus crassirostris) is a medium-sized gull native to the shorelines of East Asia. Classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, it is common in Japan and Korea but occasionally vagrant to North America.

Identification

• Medium-sized body (46 cm) with a wingspan of 126–128 cm and a distinctively black tail.
• Features yellow legs and a bill with a red and black spot at the tip.
• Emits a unique cat-like call, known as the 'mew call', which has earned it the Japanese name 'umineko' or 'sea cat'.

Habitat

Resident to the coastlines of the East China Sea, Japan, Manchuria, and the Kuril Islands. In Japan, it nests from Hokkaido to Western Kyushu, including at Kabushima, where over 40,000 birds gather annually, while in Korea, large colonies exist on Liancourt Rocks.

Diet

Feeds primarily on small fish, molluscs, crustaceans, scraps, and carrion. The species often follows ships and commercial fishing fleets and is known to steal food from other seabirds.

Did you know?

At Kabushima in Japan, the species is revered as a messenger of the goddess of the fishery; a shrine was built in 1269, and the gulls have enjoyed feeding and protection from the local population for over 700 years.