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Larus atricilla

(Laughing Gull)

Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in Dutch:

Lachmeeuw

Common Names in English:

Laughing Gull

Common Names in French:

Mouette Atricille

Common Names in German:

Aztekenmöwe

Common Names in Italian:

Gabbiano Sghignazzante

Common Names in Japanese:

ワライカモメ

Common Names in Spanish:

Gaviota Guanaguanare, Gaviota Reidora, Gaviota Reidora Americana

Description

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Family Laridae

Medium to large birds, usually grey or white, often with black markings on the head or wings. They have stout, longish bills, and webbed feet.

Physical Description

Adult : Head : Crown: black Hood : black Shape : flat forehead Face : Eye Ring: white above and below eye Bill: red Length: rather long Shape: heavy Neck: Collar : broad, white Body: Size: small for gull Underparts: white Legs : Leg Color: black.Adult Breeding Season : Head: sooty-black Crown: black Hood: black Shape: flat forehead Face: Eye Ring: white above and below eye Bill: dark red Length: rather long Shape: heavy Neck: Collar: broad, white Body: Mantle: dark slate Rump : white Size: small for gull Underparts: white Upperparts: dark Legs: Leg Color: dark red Tail: white.Adult Winter: Head: white with dusky mottling on back and sides Crown: black Hood: black Shape: flat forehead Face: Eye Ring: white above and below eye Bill: dusky tinged with red Length: rather long Shape: heavy Neck: Collar: broad, white Body: Mantle: dark slate Rump: white Size: small for gull Underparts: white Upperparts: dark Legs: Leg Color: black Tail: white.First Winter: Head: white with heavy dusky mottling Crown: black Hood: black Shape: flat forehead Face: Eye Ring: white above and below eye Bill: black Length: rather long Shape: heavy Neck: Collar: broad, white Body: Breast: mottled or smudged with dusky Sides: mottled or smudged with dusky Size: small for gull Underparts: white Legs: Leg Color: black Wings: Remiges : dusky-black.

Color:

Breeding adults have a black head , black legs and feet, and a red bill. The neck, underside of the wings, belly, and tail are white. The upper side of the wings is dark gray, and the outer flight feathers are black.

Adult alternate: Red bill · Black head · Thin white crescents above and below eye · White neck, breast, and belly · Dark gray back and upperwings · Pale scapular crescent and tertial crescent · Dark primaries, usually with no white tips · Dark primaries blend into gray of upperwings without white division · White tail

Adult basic: Black bill · White head with faint black streaking on rear part of head · Dark primaries, usually with small white tips · White tail

Juvenile : Black bill · Entirely warm brown head, neck, back, and upperwings · Pale edgings to upperwing coverts · Pale belly · Dark terminal band on white tail

Immature : First-year bird has gray back, brown upperwing coverts, pale gray head with black streaks on rear head, grayish breast , and white tail with complete black terminal band · Second-year bird is essentially like adult basic, but often has a remnant of a tail band and does not have white tips to primaries

Head turns white and beak turns black during winter months.

Size/Age/Growth

About 13 to 17 inches long, with a wingspan of 40 to 42 inches. Adults weigh about 11.5 ounces .

Habitat

Lakes , Salt Marshes, beaches, ocean

Vegetation: freshwater marshes, coastal waters, coastal sand beaches and mudflats, coastal rocky beaches • Foraging Strata: Water • Center of Abundance: Lower subtropical: lowlands, lower than 500 m.; subtropics. • Sensitivity to Disturbancet: Medium

Ecology: List of Habitats : 9.1 Marine Neritic - Pelagic 12.1 Marine Intertidal - Rocky Shoreline 12.2 Marine Intertidal - Sandy Shoreline and/or Beaches, Sand Bars , Spits , Etc

Biology

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Diet

The Laughing Gull always feeds near the sea . Its diet is comprised largely of fish and marine animals picked from beaches, estuaries and salt marshes. It will, however, eat almost anything edible. The Laughing Gull is not a good fishermen and rarely catches live food from the sea unless its prey is crippled. But it is a good thief, often robbing pelicans and terns of their catch . It will even land on a pelican's head as it emerges from a dive to pluck food from the larger bird's bill. The Laughing Gull is a useful scavenger , and performs a useful service around harbors and beaches cleaning up fish stranded by the tide and any edible garbage they can find.

Sometimes it also takes other sea bird eggs or chicks to eat. The food is gathered by picking it from the beach or water, or by diving from above to capture fish or force another bird to drop its food.

Reproduction

The breeding season begins in early April and extends into July. Laughing Gulls nest in colonies, which can be very large. The nest is common in coastal areas on the ground or within the beach grasses. The female lays 2-4 (usually 3) eggs that both adults incubate for 21-23 days. The young are semi-precocial and leave the nest within a few days of hatching . The adults tend to the young for approximately 35 days after hatching.

Clutch Size: 3 Length of Incubation : 20 days Days to Fledge : 35 Number of Broods: 1

Migration

Migratory

Behavior

The Laughing Gull is named for its call , which sounds like, "ha, ha, ha, ha." It's a sociable bird that migrates, rests, hunts and scavenges together. Noisy, quarrelsome and aggressive, they often steal the prey and feed on the eggs and young of other birds, including those of their own species.

Because gulls are so conspicuous around harbors and beaches, they are one of the most familiar of sea birds. Although they are often referred to as "sea gulls," they seldom are found far at sea.

Taxonomy

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Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: 17-Oct-2001.

Similar Species

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Franklin's Gull

Members of the genus Larus

There are approximately 171 species in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:

L. alba · L. argentatus (Herring Gull) · L. argentatus antelius · L. argentatus argentatus (Herring Gull) · L. argentatus argenteus · L. argentatus atlantis · L. argentatus birulae · L. argentatus cachinnans · L. argentatus drosti · L. argentatus heuglini · L. argentatus michahellis · L. argentatus mongolicus · L. argentatus omissus · L. argentatus smithsonianus · L. argentatus thayeri · L. argentatus vegae · L. armenicus (Armenian Gull) · L. atlanticus (OlrogÃŒs Gull) · L. atricilla (Laughing Gull) · L. atricilla atricilla (Laughing Gull) · L. atricilla megalopterus · L. audouini · L. audouinii (AudouinÃŒs Gull) · L. azarae · L. belcheri (Band-Tailed Gull) · L. belcheri atlanticus · L. belcheri belcheri (Band-Tailed Gull) · L. borealis · L. brachyrhynchus (Mew Gull) · L. brevirostris (Red-Legged Kittiwake) · L. bridgesii · L. brunneicephalus · L. brunnicephalus (Indian Black-Headed Gull) · L. bulleri (Black-Billed Gull) · L. cachin · L. cachinans · L. cachinnans (Yellow-Legged Gull) · L. cachinnans atlantis · L. cachinnans barabensis · L. cachinnans cachinnans · L. cachinnans michahellis · L. cachinnans mongolicus · L. californicus (Californian Gull) · L. californicus albertaensis (Light-Mantled California Gull) · L. californicus californicus (Dark-Mantled California Gull) · L. canus (Common Kamchatka Gull) · L. canus brachyrhynchus (Mew Gull) · L. canus canus (Common Kamchatka Gull) · L. canus heinei (Mew Gull) · L. canus kamtschatschensis (Eastern Common Gull) · L. canus stegmanni · L. capensis · L. capistratus · L. cirrhocephalus · L. cirrocephalus (Grey-Headed Gull) · L. cirrocephalus cirrocephalus (Gray-Hooded Gull) · L. cirrocephalus poicephalus · L. cirrocephalus poiocephalus · L. crassirostris (Black-Tailed Gull) · L. delawarensis (Ring-Billed Gull) · L. delewarensis · L. dominicanus (Southern Black-Backed Gull) · L. dominicanus austrinus · L. dominicanus dominicanus (Southern Black-Backed Gull) · L. dominicanus melisandae · L. dominicanus vetula · L. eburnea (Ivory Gull) · L. eburneus · L. elegans · L. fuliginosus (Dusky Gull) · L. furcatus (Swallow-Tailed Gull) · L. fuscus (Lesser Black-Backed Gull) · L. fuscus fuscus (Lesser Black-Backed Gull) · L. fuscus graellsi · L. fuscus graellsii (Lesser Black-Backed Gull) · L. fuscus heuglini · L. fuscus intermedius · L. gelastes · L. genei (Slender-Billed Gull) · L. glaucescens (Glaucous-Winged Gull) · L. glaucescens occidentalis · L. glaucescens x · L. glaucoides (White-Winged Gull) · L. glaucoides glaucoides (White-Winged Gull) · L. glaucoides kumlieni (Kumlien's Gull) · L. glaucoides thayeri (Iceland Gull) · L. glaucus · L. graellsii · L. haematorhynchus · L. hartlaubi · L. hartlaubii (King Gull) · L. heermanni (White-Headed Gull) · L. heermannii · L. hemprichi · L. hemprichii (Sooty Gull) · L. hermanni · L. heuglini · L. heuglini heuglini · L. hybrid · L. hyperboreus (White-Winged Gull)

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 12, 2007:

Identifiers

Last Revised: 2009-05-10