Common Gull

Common Gull (Larus canus) is a medium gull with pale grey upperparts, greenish-yellow legs, dark eye and a relatively slender unmarked yellow bill. Body shape, bill structure, plumage pattern and voice provide the strongest field characters. Age, sex and season may alter its appearance, so identification should combine several features and careful direct field comparisons with similar species in the same habitat (Wikipedia, general species account).

It breeds around northern coasts and wetlands and feeds on invertebrates, fish and scraps in fields, estuaries and harbours. Its movements and social behaviour vary through the year, with breeding birds generally more dispersed and non-breeding birds gathering where food is concentrated. Japanese records place it within the country's documented avifauna as a resident, migrant or visitor (Wikipedia, general species account; Wildlife of Japan occurrence records).