Silver Gull
Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae
Silhouette: Michael Scroggie · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderCharadriiformes (Shorebirds and Allies)
- FamilyLaridae (Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers)
- GenusChroicocephalus (Masked Gulls and allies)
- SpeciesChroicocephalus novaehollandiae (Silver Gull)
About the Silver Gull
The silver gull (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae) is a gull in Oceania. It is the most common gull of Australia. It has been found throughout the continent, but particularly at or near coastal areas. It is smaller than the Pacific gull (Larus pacificus), which also lives in Australia.
The silver gull should not be confused with the herring gull, which is called "silver gull" in many other languages (scientific name Larus argentatus, German Silbermöwe, French Goéland argenté, Dutch zilvermeeuw), but is a much larger, robust gull with no overlap in range.
It has traditionally been placed in the genus Larus, as is the case with many gulls, but is now placed in the genus Chroicocephalus. Hartlaub's gull (C. hartlaubii) of South Africa was formerly sometimes considered to be subspecies of the silver gull.
There are three subspecies: C. n. forsteri (Mathews, 1912) – north and northeast Australia, New Caledonia, Loyalty Islands C. n. novaehollandiae (Stephens, 1826) – southern Australia and Tasmania C. n. scopulinus (Forster, JR, 1844) or red-billed gull – New Zealand
The head, body, and tail of an adult silver gull are white, and the wings are... Wikipedia →
Recent sightings of Silver Gull in Great Otway National Park
LIVEiNaturalistClosest Relatives at Great Otway National Park
Crested Tern
Thalasseus bergii
Pacific Gull
Larus pacificus
Whiskered Tern
Chlidonias hybrida
Caspian Tern
Hydroprogne caspia
Dominican Gull
Larus dominicanus
Fairy Tern
Sternula nereis
White-fronted Tern
Sterna striata
Masked Lapwing
Vanellus miles
Hooded Plover
Thinornis cucullatus
Sooty Oystercatcher
Haematopus fuliginosus
Latham's Snipe
Gallinago hardwickii
Black-bellied Plover
Pluvialis squatarola
Global Distribution
Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Silver Gull in Great Otway National Park?
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Silver Gull sighting in Great Otway National Park, based on 1,729 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Silver Gull in Great Otway National Park?
March has the highest sighting rate for Silver Gull in Great Otway National Park in our monthly data.