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Larus
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{{Short description|Genus of birds}} {{Distinguish|Laurus}} {{Other uses}} {{Italic title}} {{Automatic taxobox | name = ''Larus'' | image = Great Black Backed Gull Ireland's Eye.jpg | image_caption = [[Great black-backed gull]] ''Larus marinus'' | taxon = Larus | authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]] | type_species = ''[[Larus marinus]]'' | type_species_authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1758 | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = See list }} '''''Larus''''' is a large [[genus]] of [[gull]]s with worldwide distribution (by far the greatest [[species diversity]] is in the [[Northern Hemisphere]]). Many of its species are abundant and well-known birds in their ranges. Until about 2005β2007, most gulls were placed in this genus, but this arrangement is now known to be [[polyphyletic]], leading to the resurrection of the genera ''[[Chroicocephalus]]'', ''[[Ichthyaetus]]'', ''[[Hydrocoloeus]]'', and ''[[Leucophaeus]]'' for many other species formerly included in ''Larus''. They are in general medium-large birds, typically pale grey to black above and white below and on the head, often with black markings with white spots ("mirrors") on their wingtips and in a few species also some black on the tail. They have stout, longish [[beak|bill]]s and webbed feet; in winter, the head is often streaked or smudged dark grey. The young birds are brown, and take three to five years to reach adult plumage, with subadult plumages intermediate between the young and adult.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Olsen |first1=Klaus Malling |last2=Larsen |first2=Hans |title=Gulls of Europe, Asia and North America |date=2003 |publisher=Helm |location=London |isbn=978-0-7136-7087-5}}</ref> The taxonomy of the large gulls in the [[European herring gull#Taxonomy|herring]] and [[lesser black-backed gull|lesser black-backed]] [[species complex|complex]] is complicated, with different authorities recognising from two species in the past, increasingly up to eight species more recently.
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