Largest gull

The largest member of the gull family (Laridae) is the great black-backed gull (Larus marinus), with a vast range spanning the eastern seaboard of North America, Greenland, Iceland and coastal areas throughout much of western Europe. Adult males of this species have an average body length of 73 centimetres (2 feet 4 inches), a wing-span of 1.5–1.7 metres (4 feet 11 inches–5 feet 7 inches) and weigh around 1.8 kilograms (4 pounds).

This seabird's impressive size has long been noted, with one early observer opining: “It surely seemed to be a king among the gulls, a merciless tyrant over its fellows, the largest and strongest of its tribe. No weaker gull dared to intrude upon its feudal domain.”

Another gull species that can sometimes obtain a similar size (though is slightly smaller on average) is the glaucous gull (L. hyperboreus), which typically favours more northerly latitudes, breeding on Arctic coastlines worldwide.