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Caspian Gull

Caspian Gull

Larus cachinnans

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The Caspian Gull is a large, long-legged gull of eastern Europe and Central Asia that is spreading west and north across Europe. It has a long, slender bill, a small, often dark eye and a grey back intermediate between Herring and Yellow-legged Gulls. Once lumped with the Herring Gull, it is now widely treated as a separate species. Its scientific name means “laughing”, after its ringing calls.

Did you know?

  • Its species name cachinnans means “laughing” in Latin.
  • In the breeding season it often flies far out over the steppes to hunt ground squirrels.

Voice

Call

About the species

Identification

A large, Herring Gull-like gull with a long neck and long legs, giving a sleek, upright look. Adults have a slim head, a long, straight, parallel-edged bill, a small dark eye and often dull yellowish legs; in winter the head is almost white. Young birds have a pale head, long legs and darker brown upperparts than typical young Herring Gulls, with pale underwings. Features overlap widely with other large gulls, so identification is challenging.

Family

Laridae

Size

Large (crow)

Colours

white, grey, black, yellow, red

About the habitat

Breeds on open, low-lying islands, sand and shingle bars and shores of large lakes, lagoons and deltas around the Black and Caspian Seas and across Central Asia; in winter coasts, estuaries, reservoirs, large rivers and landfills.

Diet

Omnivorous: fish, aquatic invertebrates, small vertebrates such as ground squirrels, carrion and refuse.

Behaviour

Breeds in colonies on islands and sandbars from early April, laying two or three eggs incubated for about four weeks. It forages widely, even flying far over the steppes to hunt rodents, and scavenges at harbours and landfills. After breeding some birds migrate south to the Red Sea and Persian Gulf, while others disperse west and north across Europe.

Sources

Photo: Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Caspian gull (Larus cachinnans) summer Danube delta.jpg

Sound: Sonothèque ADVL, XC815471, CC0 1.0 https://xeno-canto.org/815471

Text: Wikipedia (English) + FinBIF species descriptions, CC BY-SA 4.0; FinBIF: CC BY 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caspian_gull

See also