In French, we use two different names for gulls: mouette for the Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) and goéland for most other gulls like the European Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) or the Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus). All these birds belong to the Laridae family, but the Black-headed Gull is easily distinguished by its general appearance, its less massive silhouette and its behaviour.
Gulls breed often on the coastline or in the vicinity, but several species also occur inland, especially in winter. As wrote the Swiss ornithologist Paul Géroudet in his book Les Palmipèdes d’Europe : « The gulls can be considered as the almighty lords of the shores, and without the moving adornment of their flight, without the incomparable liveliness they give them, coasts, lakes and rivers would be bleak and deserted. »
