The Little Gull is the smallest gull in the world, a delicate, buoyant, almost tern-like bird that usually turns up in Michigan among flocks of the similar Bonaparte's Gull. In breeding plumage the adult has a complete black hood (not just a spot) and, most distinctively, blackish underwings that flash dark as the bird flutters and dips over the water — unlike any other small gull here. Nonbreeding and immature birds are trickier, showing a dark ear spot and cap, and require careful comparison with the Bonaparte's Gulls they accompany.
An Old World species that has established a small breeding presence in North America, the Little Gull occurs in Michigan as a rare but more or less regular migrant and winter visitor, especially on the Great Lakes, large lakes, and river mouths where Bonaparte's Gulls gather. It feeds daintily on aquatic insects and small fish, picking from the surface in graceful flight. Scanning through a flock of Bonaparte's Gulls for the smaller, dark-underwinged Little Gull is a classic and rewarding challenge for the state's gull watchers.
Feeds on aquatic insects, small fish, and other invertebrates, picking prey delicately from the water's surface in buoyant, fluttering, tern-like flight, and also foraging while swimming. It often feeds over the same lakes and river mouths where Bonaparte's Gulls concentrate.
Usually by scanning flocks of the similar Bonaparte's Gull, among which Little Gulls often occur. Look for a noticeably smaller gull with (in adults) a full black hood and dark underwings, flashing blackish as it flies.
In adults, the blackish underwings that flash dark in flight are diagnostic among the small gulls here. Nonbreeding and immature birds show a dark ear spot and cap and require careful comparison with Bonaparte's Gulls.
As a rare but fairly regular migrant and winter visitor, chiefly on the Great Lakes, large lakes, and river mouths where Bonaparte's Gulls gather. It is the smallest gull in the world.
First-year birds have a bold black M-shaped band across the upperwing and a black tail tip, and lack the adult's blackish underwing. Most Michigan records involve these immatures mixed into Bonaparte's Gull flocks.
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