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Bird name:

Kelp Gull

Larus dominicanus

Order

CHARADRIIFORMES

Family

Skuas, Gulls, Terns, Skimmers (Laridae)

Code 4

KEGU

Code 6

LARDOM

ITIS

176849

Breeding Location:

Rocky places, Marshes, saltwater, Shallow holes or grassy tussock

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Colonial

Breeding Population:

Casual to accidental

Egg Color:

Green blue or buff with purple or brown marks

Number of Eggs:

2 - 3

Incubation Days:

24 - 25

Egg Incubator:

Both sexes

Nest Material:

Grasses and weeds.

Migration:

Nonmigratory

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General

Kelp Gull: Large and stocky gull with white head, underparts, and tail. Back is black and black upperwing has white trailing edge and one distinctive white spot on outer primary tip. Bill is yellow with a red spot near tip; eyes are yellow-gray with red orbital rings; legs and feet are yellow-green. Sexes are similar; winter adult resembles breeding adult. Juvenile is brown mottled overall with a black bill and pink legs and feet. 2nd summer has white head, neck and underparts, gray-brown wings and a dark gray mantel; bill is yellow with a white tip and red spot near the tip on lower mandible.

Range and Habitat

Kelp Gull: Primarily southern hemisphere; has nested off Louisiana coast on the Chandeleur Islands. Accidental in Maryland.

Breeding and Nesting

Kelp Gull: Monogamous; colonial. Sometimes nests and hybridizes with Herring Gulls. Nest built by both sexes, in grassy hollows, in reeds, or on piles of rocks; two to three green blue or buff eggs marked with purple or brown; incubation ranges from 24 to 25 days and is carried out by both sexes. One brood per year.

Foraging and Feeding

Kelp Gull: Feeds in small groups or flocks at sea near coast and along shore; also estuaries, harbors, islands, inland rivers and lakes. Not pelagic. Takes food from water or land. Eats small fish, crustaceans, rodents, insects, and young of other birds. Also eats carrion and offal.

Vocalization

Kelp Gull: Harsh "kee-ooch." Repeated ""kwee-ah, kwee-ah, kwee-ah."

Similar Species

Kelp Gull: Greater Black-backed Gull larger, with extensive white in wing-tips, and pink legs and feet. Lesser Black-backed Gull smaller with slate-gray upperparts, darker gray underwings, and yellow legs and feet.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Lower mandible

The lower part of the bill.

Pelagic

The pelagic is a type of bird whose habitat is on the open ocean rather than in a coastal region or on inland bodies of water (lakes, rivers). An example of a pelagic bird is the blacklegged kittiwake.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America