Pacific gull
| Pacific gull | |
|---|---|
| L. p. pacificus, Freycinet Peninsula, Tasmania, Australia | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Charadriiformes |
| Family: | Laridae |
| Genus: | Larus |
| Species: | L. pacificus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Larus pacificus Latham, 1801
| |
| Subspecies | |
|
L. p. pacificus Latham, 1801 | |
The Pacific gull (Larus pacificus) is a gull, native to the coasts of Australia. It is moderately common in a band along the coast between Carnarvon, Western Australia, in the west, and Sydney in the east, as well as Tasmania and other islands off the continent's southern coast. It has, however, become scarce in some parts of the south-east, as a result of competition from the kelp gull.
Much larger than the ubiquitous silver gull, and much less common, Pacific gulls are usually seen alone or in pairs, loafing around the shoreline, steadily patrolling high above the edge of the water, or sometimes flying high on the breeze to drop a shellfish or sea urchin onto rocks.