The Silver Gull has a white head and red-orange bill and legs. It searches for food along coasts and around urban waters in Australia.
Adults have a white head, tail, and underparts, a light grey back, and black wing tips. Their bill, legs, and eye-ring are orange-red.
Researchers compared Silver Gulls, Greater Crested Terns, and Little Penguins at Montague Island in southeastern Australia from 2012 to 2014, during the austral summer breeding seasons. They tracked 163 seabirds with GPS, including 34 Silver Gulls, and analysed feather stable isotopes to compare trophic positions and feeding niches.
Silver Gulls occupied the lowest trophic level and the widest trophic niche of the three species, with little change among years. Their broad niche was linked to foraging in both terrestrial and marine environments. On days when more than 30 percent of available habitat was classified as East Australian Current origin, Silver Gulls and crested terns used smaller foraging areas.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
At Montague Island, 34 tracked Silver Gulls had the lowest trophic level and widest trophic niche among the three seabird species studied.