Little Gull (Hydrocoloeus minutus)

Many gulls appear vicious and agressive, but not little gulls. They are the smallest European gulls and also much less noisy than we are used to with gulls. Little gulls are very rare in the Netherlands. No more than several dozen pairs brood here annually. While the little gull is observed in the wadden region, there are no known cases of successful nests. There have been a few successes in the delta region. All of the nests were found close to those of black-headed gulls. It seems that little gulls find protection from these much more agressive cousins.

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