---
title: "Gaivota-pequena"
description: "Hydrocoloeus minutus — Aves. The little gull (Hydrocoloeus minutus) is a species of gull belonging to the family Laridae which is mainly found in the Palearctic with some small colonies in North America."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/pt/animal/little-gull
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Gaivota-pequena

> Hydrocoloeus minutus — Aves. The little gull (Hydrocoloeus minutus) is a species of gull belonging to the family Laridae which is mainly found in the Palearctic with some small colonies in North America.

- Scientific name: *Hydrocoloeus minutus*
- Category: `birds` (Aves)
- Habitats: `freshwater` (Lagos e rios), `sea` (Mar e costa)
- iNaturalist observations: 7717
- Wikidata: [Q164467](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q164467)
- iNaturalist taxon: [144512](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/144512)

## Names

- en: Little Gull
- de: Zwergmöwe
- es: Gaviota Menor
- fr: Mouette pygmée
- nl: Dwergmeeuw
- pt: Gaivota-pequena
- pl: Mewa mała

## Countries with the most observations

RU (2682), US (597), CA (517), GB (353), FR (287), UA (271), IT (236), DE (201), ES (181), FI (170), NL (165), PT (141)

## Summary

The little gull (Hydrocoloeus minutus) is a species of gull belonging to the family Laridae which is mainly found in the Palearctic with some small colonies in North America. It breeds on freshwater lakes and marshes, and spends winters at sea. It is the smallest species of gull in the world, and the only species in the monospecific genus Hydrocoloeus.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_gull

## Photo

![Gaivota-pequena](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/little-gull/medium.jpg)

Photo: Tero Linjama · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/252309239

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/little-gull?lang=pt` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).