Pacific gull

The Pacific gull (Larus pacificus) is a gull, native to the coasts of Australia. It is moderately common between Carnarvon in the west, and Sydney in the east, although it has become scarce in some parts of the south-east, as a result of competition from the kelp gull, which has "self-introduced"Template:Clarify since the 1940s.

Much larger than the ubiquitous silver gull, and much less common, Pacific gulls are usually seen alone or in pairs, loafing around the shoreline, steadily patrolling high above the edge of the water, or sometimes flying high on the breeze to drop a shellfish or sea urchin onto rocks.

Diet

The gulls' diet consists of a number various fish species and invertebrates. They frequently consume crabs, most often the species Ovalipes australiensis and Paragrapsus gaimardii. They also commonly eat Platycephalus bassensis (sand flatheads) and cephalopods, both of which are sourced from their regular consumption of waste from fish which have been cleaned on wharves and beaches. Additionally, they may eat insects, eggs, and other seabirds.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

The gulls may be found scavenging abattoirs and in rubbish tips, where they will often steal food from other birds.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Taxonomy

The Pacific gull was first described by English ornithologist John Latham in 1801 from a Thomas Watling drawing, where the local name had been recorded as Troo-gad-dill.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Its specific epithet refers to the Pacific Ocean.

Two subspecies are recognised:

Image	Subspecies	Distribution
File:Pacific gull (Larus pacificus pacificus) in flight Freycinet 2.jpg	L. p. pacificus Latham, 1801	from the south-east coast and Tasmania
File:Pacific gull (Larus pacificus) at Quagi Beach, Western Australia, January 2024 06.jpg	L. p. georgii King, 1826	South Australia and Western Australia.<ref name=ioc>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Description

Pacific gulls are the only large gulls in their range, besides the occasional kelp gull. This species can range in length from Template:Convert and span Template:Convert across the wings.<ref name="Harrison">Harrison, Peter, Seabirds: An Identification Guide. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (1991), Template:ISBN</ref> They typically weigh from Template:Convert.<ref name="HBW">Template:Cite book</ref> This species is mostly white, with dark wings and back, and a very thick (when compared to other gull species), powerful, red-tipped yellow bill. They have salt glands that secrete salty water through the nostrils. Young birds are mottled-brown all over, and attain their adult plumage only gradually; by its fourth year, a young Pacific gull has usually become difficult to tell apart from an adult bird.

File:Adult and juvenile pacific gulls.jpg

Adult and juveniles, Cape Woolamai, Victoria

Of the two subspecies, the nominate eastern race prefers sheltered beaches, and the western race L. p. georgii is commonly found even on exposed shores. Both subspecies nest in pairs or loose colonies on offshore islands, making a cup of grasses and sticks in an exposed position, and laying two or three mottled brown eggs.

• Juvenile pacific gull.jpg

  Juvenile

• Juvenile Pacific Gull in flight.jpg

  Juvenile, Cape Woolamai, Victoria

• Pacific gull (Larus pacificus pacificus) in flight Freycinet.jpg

  Adult, Freycinet, Tasmania