Error message
Unable to fetch location details at this time.
Black-headed gull
Chroicocephalus ridibundus
46.4333, 6.90513
Field Notes
Description:
This gull is 38–44 cm (15-17½ in) long with a 94–105 cm (37–41 in) wingspan. In flight, the white leading edge to the wing is a good field mark. The summer adult has a chocolate-brown head (not black, despite the name), pale grey body, black tips to the primary wing feathers, and red bill and legs. The hood is lost in winter, leaving just dark vertical streaks. This species takes two years to reach maturity. First-year birds have a black terminal tail band, more dark areas in the wings, and, in summer, a less fully developed dark hood.
This is a noisy species, especially in colonies, with a familiar "kree-ar" call. Its scientific name means "laughing gull". It breeds in colonies in large reedbeds or marshes, or on islands in lakes, nesting on the ground. Like most gulls, it is highly gregarious in winter, both when feeding or in evening roosts. Black-headed Gulls are long-lived birds, with a maximum age of 63 years recorded in the wild. They eat insects, worms, fish, mice, garbage, some seeds and berries
Habitat:
This is a small gull which breeds in much of Europe and Asia, and also in coastal eastern Canada. Most of the population is migratory, wintering further south, but some birds in the milder westernmost areas of Europe are resident. Some birds will also spend the winter in northeastern North America. They breed along lakes, rivers, bogs, moors, grasslands, swamps, and coastal marshes. In winter, they are found primarily along seacoasts, estuaries, and bays.
Notes:
These gulls were disputing who got to sit atop this pole.
Comments (7)