Laughing gull

The laughing gull (Leucophaeus atricilla) is a medium-sized gull of North and South America. Named for its laugh-like call, it is an opportunistic omnivore and scavenger. It breeds in large colonies mostly along the Atlantic coast of North America, the Caribbean, and northern South America. The two subspecies are L. a. megalopterus — which can be seen from southeast Canada down to Central America — and L. a. atricilla, which appears from the West Indies to the Venezuelan islands. The laughing gull was long placed in the genus Larus until its present placement in Leucophaeus, which follows the American Ornithologists' Union.

Laughing gull
Call
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Laridae
Genus: Leucophaeus
Species:
L. atricilla
Binomial name
Leucophaeus atricilla
geographical range
   breeding
   year-round
   nonbreeding
Synonyms

Larus atricilla Linnaeus, 1758

Name

The genus name Leucophaeus is from Ancient Greek λευκός : leukós, "white", and φαιός : phaios, "dusky". The specific atricilla is from Latin atra, "black", " unlucky" or "malevolent" and cilla, "tail".[2]

According to the Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names, Linnaeus may have intended to write atricapilla (black-haired), which would have been more appropriate, as the bird has a black head and white tail.[2]

Range

It breeds on the Atlantic coast of North America, the Caribbean, and northern South America. Northernmost populations migrate farther south in winter, and this species occurs as a rare vagrant to western Europe. The laughing gull's English name is derived from its raucous kee-agh call, which sounds like a high-pitched laugh "ha... ha... ha...".[3]

Laughing gulls breed in coastal marshes and ponds in large colonies. The large nest, made largely from grasses, is constructed on the ground. The three or four greenish eggs are incubated for about three weeks.

Description

This species is 36–41 cm (14–16 in) long with a 98–110 cm (39–43 in) wingspan and a weight range[4] of 203–371 grams (7.2–13.1 oz). 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 have black tips without the white crescent shown by Franklin's. The beak 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 by the wing pattern and structure.

Subspecies

The two subspecies are:[5]

Like most other members of the genus Leucophaeus, the laughing gull was long placed in the genus Larus. The present placement in Leucophaeus follows the American Ornithologists' Union.[6][7]

  • Egg, Collection Museum Wiesbaden
    Egg, Collection Museum Wiesbaden
  • Mating plumage includes black head and red bill
    Mating plumage includes black head and red bill
  • Definitive alternate plumage
    Definitive alternate plumage
  • Adult in mid-May (definitive alternate plumage)
    Adult in mid-May (definitive alternate plumage)
  • Laughing gull, alternate plumage, North Carolina, US, 2016
    Laughing gull, alternate plumage, North Carolina, US, 2016
  • Adult in winter (definitive basic plumage)
    Adult in winter (definitive basic plumage)
  • Juvenile
    Juvenile
  • Adult at St. Thomas, Virgin Islands (definitive alternate plumage)
    Adult at St. Thomas, Virgin Islands (definitive alternate plumage)
  • Vagrant in definitive basic plumage in the UK in late 2005
    Vagrant in definitive basic plumage in the UK in late 2005
  • At Los Roques, Venezuela
    At Los Roques, Venezuela
  • First winter laughing gull in Riverhead, New York
    First winter laughing gull in Riverhead, New York
  • Adult in breeding plumage, American Virgin Islands
    Adult in breeding plumage, American Virgin Islands
  • Adult in breeding plumage, American Virgin Islands
    Adult in breeding plumage, American Virgin Islands
  • Preparing to land on beach, American Virgin Islands
    Preparing to land on beach, American Virgin Islands
  • Laughing gulls following a shrimp boat off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida

References
  1. BirdLife International (2012). "Larus atricilla". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  2. Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. pp. 59, 224. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  3. "Laughing Gull (Larus atricilla)". Handbook of the Birds of the World. doi:10.2173/bow.laugul.01. S2CID 216445679. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  4. "Laughing Gull Identification, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology". www.allaboutbirds.org. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
  5. Burger, Joanna (4 March 2020). "Laughing Gull (Larus atricilla)". Birds of the World. doi:10.2173/bow.laugul.01. S2CID 216445679.
  6. "Check-list of North American Birds". North American Classification Committee. American Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 2009-05-26.
  7. Remsen, J. V. Jr.; C. D. Cadena; A. Jaramillo; M. Nores; J. F. Pacheco; M. B. Robbins; T. S. Schulenberg; F. G. Stiles; D. F. Stot; K. J. Zimmer. "A classification of the bird species of South America". South American Classification Committee. American Ornithologists' Union. Archived from the original on 2009-03-02. Retrieved 2009-05-26.
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