Everything about The Laughing Gull totally explained
The
Laughing Gull,
Larus atricilla, is a medium-sized
gull of
North and
South America. It breeds on the Atlantic coast of North America, the
Caribbean, and northern South America. Northernmost populations
migrate further south in winter, and this species occurs as a rare
vagrant to western
Europe, although there was a large influx into North-west Europe in late October 2005 when there was a minimum of 18 (and anywhere up to a possibly maximum of 35) individuals on one day in the
UK alone. The Laughing Gull's English name is derived from its raucous
kee-agh call, which sounds like a high pitched laugh "ha... ha... ha...".
This species is easy to identify. It is 36-41 cm long with a 98-110 cm wingspan. The summer adult's body is white apart from the dark grey back and wings and black head. Its wings are much darker grey than all other gulls of similar size except the smaller
Franklin's Gull, and they've black tips without the white crescent shown by Franklin's. The bill is long and red. The black hood is mostly lost in winter.
Laughing Gulls take three years to reach adult plumage. Immature birds are always darker than most similar sized gulls other than Franklin's. First year birds are greyer below and have paler heads than first year Franklin's, and second years can be distinguished on the wing pattern and structure.
Laughing Gulls breed in coastal marshes and ponds in large colonies. The large nest, made largely from grasses, is constructed on the ground. The 3 or 4 greenish eggs are incubated for about three weeks. These are omnivores like most
Larus gulls, and that'll scavenge as well as seeking suitable small prey.
image:Larus atricilla1.jpg
image:Flying Laughing Gull.jpg|Adult in mid-May
image:gulllaysan85.jpg|First winter
Image:Sea gulls Solitude 1.jpg|Adult winter
Image:Sea Gull 2.jpg|Juvenile
Image:Laughing gull st thomas.JPG|Adult at St. Thomas, Virgin Islands
Image:Laughing gull Porthmadog.jpg|Vagrant in winter plumage in the UK in late 2005
References and External Links
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