black-tailed gull

The black-tailed gull is medium-sized (46 cm) (19 Inches), with a wingspan of 126–128 cm (49.6 - 50.3 Inches). It has yellow legs and a red and black spot at the end of the bill. Males and females have identical plumage and features, although males are larger in size than females.{{cite journal|last1=Chochi|first1=Michiyo|first2=Yasuaki|last2=Niizuma|first3=Masaoki|last3=Takagi|title=Sexual differences in the external measurements of Black-tailed Gulls breeding on Rishiri Island, Japan|journal=Ornithological Science|volume=1|issue=2|year=2002|pages=163–166|doi=10.2326/osj.1.163|doi-access=free}} This gull takes four years to reach full adult plumage.{{cite web|last=Doherty|first=Paul|url=http://www.surfbirds.com/mb/Features/black-tailed-gull.html|title=Black-tailed Gull: a photo essay|website=Surfbirds.com|access-date=2016-04-05|archive-date=2017-03-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170313003701/http://surfbirds.com/mb/Features/black-tailed-gull.html|url-status=dead}} As the name suggests, it has a black tail. The bird has a cat-like call, giving it its Japanese name — umineko (海猫, "sea cat"), and Korean name — gwaeng-yi gull, which means "cat" gull. In Hachinohe their calls are one of the 100 Soundscapes of Japan.{{cite web |url=http://www.env.go.jp/air/life/nihon_no_oto/02_2007oto100sen_Pamphlet.pdf |publisher=Ministry of the Environment |title=残したい日本の音風景100選}}

The species is resident to coastlines of the East China Sea, Japan, Manchuria and the Kuril Islands. It is a vagrant to Alaska and North America[https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/black-tailed-gull Black-tailed Gull] Audubon Field Guide Retrieved April 5, 2016{{cite web|url=http://birdweb.org/birdweb/bird/black-tailed_gull|title=Black-tailed Gull|website=Birdweb.org}} and has been found in the Philippines.{{cite web|url=http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=3211|title=Black-tailed Gull Larus crassirostris Factsheet|website=BirdLife International}}

The bird is common in Japan, nesting from Hokkaido to Western Kyushu. It has caused flights to be delayed at Haneda Airport in Tokyo.[http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2003/11/22/national/shooing-away-pesky-birds-never-ending-job-at-haneda/ Shooing away pesky birds never-ending job at Haneda November 22, 2003] The Japan Times Retrieved April 5, 2016

File:Kabushima3.JPG]]

An enormous gathering of black-tailed gulls can be found at Kabushima, a peninsula (formerly an island) in Hachinohe, Aomori, Japan. A Shinto shrine was raised by fishermen in 1269 (and has been rebuilt several times since) at which the black-tailed gull is seen as a messenger of the goddess of the fishery. For over 700 years, the species has enjoyed reverence, feeding and protection from the local population. As a result, every summer, over 40,000 black-tailed gulls nest and raise their young in the grounds of the shrine and the surrounding island, which has been designated a National Natural Monument by the government of Japan. The gulls are very tame and are a popular tourist attraction.{{cite web|last=Otaka|first=Tomoko|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2012/07/22/travel/power-spots-and-prehistory-in-beautiful-aomori-prefecture/|title=Power spots and prehistory in beautiful Aomori Prefecture|date=22 July 2012 |publisher=The Japan Times}}

Around 5,000 birds also nest at Fumi-shima in Shimane Prefecture near Izumo Shrine,{{cite web|last=Bamforth|first=Chris|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2006/04/28/travel/here-be-the-land-of-the-gods/|title=Here be the land of the gods|date=28 April 2006|publisher=The Japan Times}} and there is a large colony at Teuri Island in Hokkaido.{{cite web|last=Brazil|first=Mark|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2000/07/05/environment/migrants-and-vagrants-under-teuris-crags/|title=Migrants and vagrants under Teuri's crags|date=5 July 2000|publisher=The Japan Times}}

The species is common on the shoreline of Korea and on various islands. There are over 20,000 black-tailed gulls on Liancourt Rocks, and numbers are increasing due to the absence of predators. In 2008, the bird was officially chosen as one of the mascots of Liancourt Rocks.{{cite web |title=Characters of Dokdo |url=http://k-dokdo.com/index.do?menu_id=00010079 |website=K-Dokdo |access-date=2018-06-10 |archive-date=2020-10-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031034734/http://k-dokdo.com/index.do?menu_id=00010079 |url-status=dead }} Nando and Hongdo islands, both Korean natural monuments as of 1982, are also known breeding grounds.{{Cite web|url=http://english.cha.go.kr/chaen/search/selectGeneralSearchDetail.do?sCcebKdcd=16&ccebAsno=03340000&sCcebCtcd=34|title=Natural Monument 334|website=Korean Cultural Heritage Administration|access-date=2018-06-10}}{{Cite web|url=http://english.cha.go.kr/chaen/search/selectGeneralSearchDetail.do?sCcebKdcd=16&ccebAsno=03350000&sCcebCtcd=38|title=Natural Monument 335|website=Korean Cultural Heritage Administration|language=en|access-date=2018-06-10}}

A rare visitor to the United States, a black-tailed gull was spotted from Burlington, Vermont, in October 2005.{{cite web|url=http://www.birds.cornell.edu/crows/Black_t_gull.htm|title=Black-tailed Gull, Larus crassirostris, Charlotte Town Beach, Charlotte, Chittenden Co., VT, 23 October 2005}} The species has been spotted in Illinois several times.{{cite web|last=Swick|first=Nate|url=http://blog.aba.org/2016/01/abarare-black-tailed-gull-illinois.html|title=Rare – Black-tailed Gull – Illinois January 11, 2016|date=12 January 2016 |publisher=American Birding Association blog}}

The black-tailed gull feeds mainly on small fish, molluscs, crustaceans scraps and carrion. A study analyzing the identifiable parts of gull excreta in Korea found that 19.1% consisted of the remains of fish, 3.3% of crustaceans, and 3.3% of land insects.{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

The species often follows ships and commercial fishing fleets. It also steals food from other seabirds. It is a colonial nester, with colonies forming in mid-April. 2–3 eggs are laid by early June. Incubation lasts approximately 24 days.{{cite book|last=Boles|first=Walter|title=Handbook of Birds of the World, Volume 3|editor=Josep del Hoyo |editor2=Andrew Elliott |editor3=David A. Christie|year=2009|publisher=Lynx Edicions|location=Barcelona, Spain}}

Black-tailed gulls use a variety of voice signals and are known to use more than 10 different sounds for communication. Young can recognize their parents from their voice and visual stimulation between 10 and 15 days after hatching, and can also distinguish between siblings and non-siblings. Alarm calls are alert signals that warn of predators or danger. Aggressive calls accompany attacks on predators. Contact calls are signals used for intra-specific communication. The most commonly heard cat-like sound ("mew call") is a part of the contact call, and is frequently used, such as when returning to the nest after taking food, alternating the role of the mating and nesting, taking care of the young, collective flight, etc. The sound of a young gull begging for food and the sound of a female during mating are also included in the contact call.{{Cite journal|last=Chung|first=Hoon|date=2004|title=Communication of young black tailed gulls, larus crassirostris, in response to parent's behavior|journal=Korean Journal of Biological Sciences|volume=8|issue=4|pages=295–300|doi=10.1080/12265071.2004.9647763|doi-access=free}}

Image:Black-tailed Gull Kclama.jpg|Black-tailed Gull, immature plumage

Image:Black-tailed gull.jpg|Black-tailed Gull in Tokyo Bay

Image:Black-tailed Gull Mikahosi.jpg|Black-tailed Gull in Hachinohe, Aomori

File:Kabushima02.jpg|Black-tailed Gulls at entrance to Kabushima Shrine

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Larus crassirostris}}

{{Wikispecies|Larus crassirostris}}

• [http://kabushima.com/umineko/index.html Black-tailed Gulls at Kabushima – official site] {{in lang|ja}}
• [http://kiwifoto.com/rba/btgu.html?Ref=Rare Black-tailed Gull in California] Black-tailed Gull information and Photos in California
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxONmG1FuMQ Video showing the gulls of Kabushima]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtKxQ7fghOo Video showing the gulls of Kabushima]

{{Gulls}}

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black-tailed gull

Category:Birds of East Asia

Category:Birds of China

Category:Birds of Japan

Category:Birds of Korea

Category:Birds of Manchuria

black-tailed gull

black-tailed gull