Bird name:

Black-headed Gull

Larus ridibundusOrder: CHARADRIIFORMES Family: Skuas, Gulls, Terns, Skimmers (Laridae)

Codes: Common Name: BHGU Scientific Name: LARRID ITIS Taxonomic No.: 176835

Black-headed Gull Winter Adult - The winter adult Black-headed Gull lacks the dark brown hood, has a dark brown-black spot behind the eye and the bill is darker red.

Black-headed Gull - The breeding adult Black-headed Gull has a pale gray back and upperwings and a dark brown hood. The nape, neck, breast, belly and tail are white. The bill and legs are dark red.

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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.

Black-headed Gull

Black-headed Gull: Medium-sized gull with pale gray back and upperwings and dark brown face and partial hood. Nape, neck, breast, belly, and tail are white. Bill and legs are dark red. Wings have white triangular panel formed at the leading edge of black-tipped primaries in flight.

● Song: "kree-aaa"

● Foraging & Feeding: Black-headed Gull: Feeds on insects, worms, carrion and scraps, scavenges on household and industrial waste, and steals food from other birds.

● Breeding & nesting: Black-headed Gull: Two to four gray green or yellow eggs marked with brown and olive are laid in a scrape on the ground or on a pile of dead plant material. Incubation ranges from 21 to 27 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Black-headed Gull: Bonaparte's Gull has dark bill in all plumages and is pale under primaries. Adult Little Gull lacks black on upper surface of wings and has dark bill and underwings.

Flight Pattern

Bouyant direct flight.

● Range & Habitat: Black-headed Gull: Breeds from southern Greenland through most of Europe and central Asia to Kamchatka and northeast China. Spends winters in west and east Africa, Malaysia and the Philippines. In North America breeds along Atlantic coast from Labrador, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia south to New York (Long Island), rarely farther south and west, and in Old World. Nests in coastal and freshwater marshes, gravel pits, and lakes; spends winters on estuaries, inland wetlands, reservoirs, ploughed fields, pastures, and landfills.

^BreedingMonogamous

^PopulationYes but uncommon

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight10 Ounces

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