📸 PhotoPhoto: Angie from Sawara, Chiba-ken, Japan · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Black-tailed Gull
Larus crassirostris (Black-tailed Gull · ウミネコ)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Its weight of about 0.64 kg is slightly heavier than a 500 mL bottle of water (0.5 kg) (Comparison).
- 💡 Its body length of about 48 cm is roughly 1.6 times the long side of an A4 sheet of paper (29.7 cm) (Comparison).
- 💡 It has been reported feeding on organic waste discarded by people in harbors and along coasts.
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
Site-computed relative index from recorded values; not a formal scientific metric.
📖 1. Overview
The Black-tailed Gull is a gull that breeds on coastal islands from the southern Ussuri region to Japan, Korea, and Fujian in China. It is listed as Least Concern (LC) by the IUCN, with a stable population.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Its total length is 46–48 cm, and its maximum reported weight is 640 g.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
Along coasts, it eats small fish and organic waste discarded by humans. In China it breeds on islands in the Yellow Sea, and the Chinese Crested Tern nests within colonies of this gull on Chilsando Island in Korea.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
The Hong Kong Bird Watching Society notes that its breeding range includes Japan, Korea, and eastern China. The East Asian–Australasian Flyway Partnership notes that the Chinese Crested Tern nests within colonies of this gull on Chilsando Island.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List LC (2018) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22694289/132538717
- • IUCN Red List category LC — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • doi.org — avilist.v2026
- • iucnredlist.org — 132538717
- • 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000001757 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000001757
- • wikidata.org — Q623194
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Gull in water3.jpg
- • sealifebase.se — 75066
- • avifauna.hkbws.org.hk — 016900
- • eaaflyway.org — chinese-crested-tern
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Ferran Sayol · CC0 1.0 (Congeneric silhouette — Larus)
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.