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Bonaparte's Gull

Larus philadelphiaOrder: CHARADRIIFORMES Family: Skuas, Gulls, Terns, Skimmers (Laridae)
Codes: Common Name: BOGU Scientific Name: LARPHI ITIS Taxonomic No.: 176839
Least Concern
 
Bonaparte's Gull: The breeding adult Bonaparte’s Gull has a black hood and bill, gray back and wings with black tips, white underparts and orange-red legs.
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Bonaparte's Gull Variations

Bonaparte's Gull
Winter Adult
Bonaparte's Gull
Bonaparte's Gull
Breeding Adult
Bonaparte's Gull

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Attracting Clingers

Overview

Bonaparte's Gull: Medium gull with black head and bill, gray back and wings, white underparts and tail. White outer primaries with black trailing edges are visible in flight. Legs are red-orange. Catches fish by wading and diving. Light and direct flight with rapid wing beat, ternlike.

Range and Habitat

Bonaparte's Gull: Breeds across northern North America from western Alaska to Hudson Bay. Spends winters along Atlantic and Pacific coasts and Gulf of Mexico. Preferred habitats include large lakes, rivers, and marshlands.

Topo Map: Gull-like Body


Listen to Call

Voice Text

"cheer"

Interesting Facts

 Bonaparte's gulls are named after a nephew of Napoleon, Charles Lucien Bonaparte, who was a leading ornithologist in the 1800's in America and Europe.

 The scientific name philadelphia was given in 1815 by the describer of the species, George Ord of Philadelphia, presumably because he collected his specimen there.

 The smallest gull seen over most of North America, it is also the only gull that regularly nests in trees.

 A group of gulls has many collective nouns, including a "flotilla", "gullery", "screech", "scavenging", and "squabble" of gulls.


Bird Term Glossary



Author

Gary Owen Dick

Artist

Irina Rud-Volga

Splitbar
Range Map for Bonaparte's Gull

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Family Gull (Laridae)_blue
Species Larus philadelphia
Length12 - 14 Inches
Wingspan34.5 Inches

Bonaparte's Gull

Bonaparte's Gull: Medium gull with black head and bill, gray back and wings, white underparts and tail. White outer primaries with black trailing edges are visible in flight. Legs are red-orange. Catches fish by wading and diving. Light and direct flight with rapid wing beat, ternlike.

● Song: "cheer"

● Foraging & Feeding: Bonaparte's Gull: Feeds mostly on insects picked from the water surface or rotting vegetation along shorelines during breeding season. Diet shifts to small fish, crustaceans, marine worms, and other invertebrates in winter. Forages by picking food from the water surface while swimming or flying with dangling feet; also makes shallow plunge dives.

● Breeding & nesting: Bonaparte's Gull: Two to four brown blotched, olive to buff eggs are laid in a nest made of sticks and twigs, lined with grass and moss, and built near or over water; typically builds nest in a tree rather than on the ground. Both parents incubate eggs for 24 days.

● Similar species: Bonaparte's Gull: Black-headed Gull has pale bill and dark primary undersides.

Flight Pattern

Light buoyant flight with rapid wing beats.
Bonaparte's Gull: Breeding Adult
● Range & Habitat: Bonaparte's Gull: Breeds across northern North America from western Alaska to Hudson Bay. Spends winters along Atlantic and Pacific coasts and Gulf of Mexico. Preferred habitats include large lakes, rivers, and marshlands.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester, Small colonies
PopulationStable and common
MigrationMigratory
Weight7.5 Ounces
Gull-like BodyX
UnderpartsX
Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.
Outer primariesX
The outer primaries are the primary feathers on the wing farthest from the body. They often appear to be the longest feathers on the wing.
PrimariesX
The primaries are the flight feathers specialized for flight. They are attached to the "hand" equivalent part of the wing.
4 and 6 letter alpha codesX

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.

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ITIS CodesX

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) was established in the mid-1990�s as a cooperative project among several federal agencies to improve and expand upon taxonomic data (known as the NODC Taxonomic Code) maintained by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

To find the ITIS page for a bird species go to the ITIS web site advanced search and report page at http://www.itis.gov/advanced_search.html. You can enter the TSN or the common name of the bird. It will return the ITIS page for that bird. Another way to obtain the ITIS page is to use the Google search engine. Enter the string ITIS followed by the taxonomic ID, for example "ITIS 178041" will return the page for the Allen's Hummingbird.

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Parts of a Standing birdX
Head Feathers and MarkingsX
Parts of a Flying birdX