common gull

Both Common and Mew Gulls breed colonially near water or in marshes, making a lined nest on the ground or in a small tree; colony size varies from 2 to 320 or even more pairs. Usually three eggs are laid (sometimes just one or two); they hatch after 24–26 days, with the chicks fledging after a further 30–35 days. Like most gulls, they are omnivores and will scavenge as well as hunt small prey. The global population is estimated to be about one million pairs; they are most numerous in Europe, with over half (possibly as much as 80-90%) of the world population.[6] By contrast, the Alaskan population is only about 10,000 pairs.[2]
Vagrancy

The Common Gull occurs as a scarce winter visitor to coastal eastern Canada and as a vagrant to the northeastern USA,[7] and there is one recent record of Mew Gull in Europe on the Azores.[8]
Etymology

The scientific name Larus canus simply translates from Latin as grey or hoary gull.[9] The name Common Gull was coined by Thomas Pennant in 1768 because he considered it the most numerous of its genus.[10] John Ray earlier used the name Common Sea-Mall.[10] It is something of a cliche that Uncommon Gull is a more accurate description. There are many old British regional names for this species with variations on maa, mar and mew.[11]