A resident species in Cyprus and the Akamas peninsula. It’s the commonest gull species in the Akamas area. It can be seen everywhere along the coastline, the open sea, even inland in the peninsula, usually soaring high over the hills, singly or in groups.

It’s an omnivore, normally feeding on fish, crabs, crustaceans and other marine species, but it’s very adaptive and opportunistic, so it has a wide range of food sources, depending on the availability. It often approaches humans, urban and touristic areas, taking advantage of human food restduals and garbage.

It breeds in colonies, usually on islets, but also locally at sites with coastal cliffs. It’s a big gull, the adult has a grey-silvery back, black wing tips with few white markings, white head and underbody, a strong yellow beak, bright yellow feet and a light-yellow eye.

The young ones have a spotted dark back and are overall dark colored, with pinkish feet and dark (black) beak. The intermediate ages show a transitory plumage from that of the juvenile to the one of the adult, that needs approximately 4 years to finish.