Black-billed Gull

The Black-billed Gull is a species of gull in the Laridae family. It is endemic to New Zealand. As is the case with many gulls, it has traditionally been placed in the genus Larus, but is now considered to be the genus Chroicocephalus.

The Black-billed Gull is classified as Endangered (EN), considered to be facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild.

Description: The black-billed gull is a white bird with black wing tips and, as the name suggests, a black bill. It lives in pairs along the shores of New Zealand's lake margins and riverbeds. This species is often preyed upon by the non-native animals of New Zealand such as dogs, cats and ferrets. Their numbers have declined rapidly in the past three decades and they are now the world's most endangered gull. More

The Black-billed Gull (Chroicocephalus bulleri) is a species of gull in the Laridae family. It is endemic to New Zealand. As is the case with many gulls, it has traditionally been placed in the genus Larus, but is now considered to be the genus Chroicocephalus. Its natural habitats are rivers, freshwater lakes, freshwater marshes, sandy shores, pastureland, and urban areas. It is threatened by habitat loss. References - * BirdLife International 2006. More

Black-billed Gulls are the most threatened of our gull species. They nest predominantly on gravel river beds or shingle coastline. Black-billed gulls have a somewhat asynchronous breeding season, streching for perhaps 3-4 months from choosing of a site to its abandonment. This increases the chances of predation at the colonies by stoats, rats, ferrets or humans, as well as increasing the chance of flooding at a colony.Photographing Black-billed Gulls is easiest at colonies. More

Adapted for sustained, soaring flight, the black-billed gull has a compact body with long wings and a fan-shaped tail to help control movement in strong winds. With typical colouration for a gull, the black-billed gull can be distinguished by its ... More

The black-billed gull is classified as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List 2006 (1). Description - Adapted for sustained, soaring flight, the black-billed gull has a compact body with long wings and a fan-shaped tail to help control movement in strong winds. More

Black-billed gull (Larus bulleri) on nest, Miranda, New Zealand. Portfolio Neil Fitzgerald Keywords Black-billed gull, Larus bulleri, New Zealand, nest Capture Medium Slide Film Capture Format 35mm Location New Zealand URL http://www.naturescapes.net/portfolios/displayimage.php?pos=-3200 Favorites Add to Favorites All content copyright NatureScapes.Net, LLC, or as indicated. More

Of New Zealand's three species of gull, the black-billed gull is the only endemic (found only in New Zealand) gull. They are similar in size to red-billed gulls, but their bills are black, and they are longer and finer in shape. They have reddish-black legs and paler wings. Black-billed gulls mainly breed inland, beside rivers and lakes and they can be seen occasionally around the edge of Lake Taupo and Miranda on the Firth of Thames. More

Black-billed gulls at Lake Rotorua Black-billed gulls at Lake Rotorua Red-billed gulls The red-billed gull or tarāpunga (Larus novaehollandiae) has a white body with grey wings tipped with black then white. Their bills and legs are red. They are 37 centimetres long – considerably smaller than black-backed gulls. Males weigh 300 grams and females about 260 grams. Red-billed gulls are found around the southern hemisphere in temperate and tropical regions. More

This raises the question as to whether a black-billed gull would in fact be recognised as such in Australia.....or whether it might pass unnoticed!! This site is maintained and copyrighted by Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ 2003. All photos (unless otherwise stated) were taken by Brent Stephenson @ Eco-Vista and are copyrighted 2003. The use of any image without permission is not allowed. However, all photos on this site are for sale, please email Brent for more information or check out Eco-Vista's website for details. More