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*Thread discussing the identification of Mediterranean Gull.[http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=] | *Thread discussing the identification of Mediterranean Gull.[http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=] | ||
| − | [[Category:Birds | + | [[Category:Birds]] [[category:Bird Songs]][[Category:Videos]] [[Category:Ichthyaetus]] |
Revision as of 16:04, 19 August 2015
- Ichthyaetus melanocephalus
Larus melanocephalus
Identification
Length 36-40 cm, wingspan 92-105 cm, weight 215-350 g
Breeding adult
- Red bill with variable yellow and black marks on tip
- Full black head
- Broken white eye-ring
- Pale grey mantle
- Pure white primaries
Winter adult
- As breeding adult, but head white with a blackish bar through the eye; bill red with subterminal black band.
Second year
- As breeding adult, but black bars near the tips of the outer 5 primaries; legs red-brown; bill red with subterminal black band.
First year
- Juvenile scaly grey-brown above
- First-winter with pale grey mantle, black terminal tail band, and patterned wing with blackish secondaries and outer primaries contrasting with pale grey inner primaries and secondary coverts. Bill blackish with dull pinkish base; legs dark brown to blackish.
Similar Species
Black-headed Gull is superficially similar at first glance, but the head is dark chocolate-brown rather than black, and the wings have a very different pattern of black and white on the primaries. Relict Gull resembles second-summer Mediterranean Gull in having black marks on the primary tips in adults as well as immatures, but no overlap in distribution is known. Juvenile and first-winters somewhat similar to the same ages of Common Gull but paler, with a whiter underwing, and a white head with dark eye patch.
Distribution
Europe, especially south and central Europe, wintering to north Africa. As a breeding bird almost confined to Europe where breeds in large colonies mainly in the south-east, and in central Turkey. The main colonies (over 300,000 pairs in total) are on the northern Black Sea coasts, chiefly in the Dobruja area of Romania, around the Crimea, and at freshwater lakes in southern Russia, with smaller colonies also in northern Greece and central Anatolia.
The species has undergone a dramatic range expansion in recent decades, breeding first in south-east Hungary in 1940, and reaching France in the Camargue (c.1,500 pairs in 2000), northeast Italy and more recently Belgium (1,300 pairs in 2012), the Netherlands (2,000 pairs in 2012), Germany (230 pairs in 2004) and elsewhere, has recently started breeding in Denmark (15-20 pairs), Poland (25-30 pairs), and Ireland (under five pairs). In Britain, it first bred in 1968 and now breeds widely in England, with around 90 pairs in 2000 increasing to over 1,000 pairs by 2012, the majority on the south and east coasts. The first breeding attempts for Northern Ireland took place in 1996, rising to six pairs in 2012, but breeding is still only sporadic in Wales and Scotland.
With the population increasing and range expanding, breeding is likely to become regular in more areas. Most birds winter in the Mediterranean, where found virtually throughout, largest numbers on coasts of southern France and Spain, Italy, Tunisia and the Nile Delta. Also passes through Straits of Gibraltar to winter off Portugal and north to Britain and also south to Mauritania. Increasingly birds are remaining near to summering areas, especially in northwest Europe.
Vagrant to Finland and Norway, the Azores, Madeira and the Canary Islands, and in Africa south to Senegal on the west coast and Kenya on the east coast.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[1].
Along with other species of Ichthyaetus, it was formerly included in genus Larus. In the past, Relict Gull was included in Mediterranean Gull as a subspecies.
Habitat
Breeds on estuarine saltmarshes, flooded fields and sparsely vegetated islands, often in association with Black-headed Gulls or terns.
After breeding most are coastal, although some feed on grasslands some distance inland
Behaviour
Vocalisation
<flashmp3>Larus melanocephalus (song).mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program
Gallery
Click on photo for larger image
Second-winter (with Black-headed Gull). Photo by Gavin Haig River Axe, Axmouth, Devon, UK 22/12/07
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2014. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.9., with updates to August 2014. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Collins Field Guide 5th Edition
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Mediterranean Gull. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 24 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Mediterranean_Gull
External Links
- Thread discussing the identification of Mediterranean Gull.[1]
