BIRDS OF ICELAND : Larus fuscus, Lesser Black-backed gull

Larus fuscus; the Lesser Black-backed Gull is a smaller version of the great black-backed gull. Apart from size it differs in the color of the legs (yellow compared to pink of the great black-backed gull). Also, Western European populations, including those of Iceland have more grayish-black top parts compared to the deep black of the great black-backed. It is more ready to exploit human settlements than the great black-backed. It breeds on lowland colonies (mainly in the south and south-west) often together with other gull species. Occasionally it will hybridize with the herring gull (Larus argentatus). In winter almost all lesser black-backed gulls migrate south (British Isles, etc.).