All birds/Laridae/Little Gull
AI reconstruction of Little Gull (Hydrocoloeus minutus)AI

AI reconstruction created with Nano Banana 2 · 1K, grounded in the profile’s documented taxonomy, habitat, natural-history sources, and an open-license visual reference when available. It is an interpretive image, not documentary evidence. Image policy

Little Gull (Hydrocoloeus minutus)
Verified source photographEkaterina Chernetsova (Papchinskaya)CC-BY · View source
PRB-0135Charadriiformes

Little Gull

Gaviota Enana

Hydrocoloeus minutus

Accidental / vagrantIUCN LC · Least Concern

The little gull (Hydrocoloeus minutus) is a species of gull belonging to the family Laridae which is mainly found in the Palearctic with some small colonies in North America. It breeds on freshwater lakes and marshes, and spends winters at sea. It is the smallest species of gull in the world, and the only species in the monospecific genus Hydrocoloeus.

FamilyLaridaeGulls, Terns, and Skimmers
Puerto Rico occurrenceAccidental / vagrantAvibase inferred core 380
Primary habitatcoastsCoastal
Primary dietInvertebrateAquatic predator
Average mass114.08333333333333 gGlobal trait estimate
MovementMigratory; Long-distance dispersalGeneralist

Sound archive

Hear its voice

Explore real songs and calls. The spectrogram turns each sound into a visual trace of time and frequency.

XC1080639Recording 1 of 3flight call
Spectrogram of Little Gull: flight call
SpectrogramHydrocoloeus minutus

Play: flight call by Francesco Sottile

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Sound recorded by Francesco Sottile · XC1080639 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Visualization by Stichting Xeno-canto voor Natuurgeluiden.

Every recording retains the creator, catalogue number, and license published by Xeno-canto. Metadata via GBIF

Island profile

Catalog scopeAvibase inferred core 380

About the Little Gull

The little gull (Hydrocoloeus minutus) is a species of gull belonging to the family Laridae which is mainly found in the Palearctic with some small colonies in North America. It breeds on freshwater lakes and marshes, and spends winters at sea. It is the smallest species of gull in the world, and the only species in the monospecific genus Hydrocoloeus.

Conservation

Least Concern

IUCN LC

Global IUCN
LC
Puerto Rico DNER
No current listing in source crosswalk
Federal ESA
No current listing in source crosswalk
Critical habitat
Not identified in source crosswalk

Natural history

How it lives

Habitat
coasts
Elevation
0–500 m
Nest
Half cup / shallow · Ground; Water
Clutch
1–3 eggs
Social behavior
Colonial; Solitary

Keep exploring

This bird belongs to 6 paths through the atlas.

Evidence trail

Sources, media & further reading