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Mediterranean Gull

Mediterranean Gull

Ichthyaetus melanocephalus

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The Mediterranean Gull is a medium-sized, very pale gull that has spread west and north from its Black Sea strongholds to breed across much of Europe. In breeding plumage it has a jet-black hood with white eye crescents, a very pale grey back, pure white wingtips and a deep red bill. Non-breeding birds show a dusky “bandit” mask. A colonial, sociable gull of wetlands and coasts, it seldom ventures far out to sea.

Did you know?

  • Adults have completely white wingtips without black, giving them an almost ghostly look in flight.
  • It has spread across Europe over the last few decades from its main range around the Black Sea.

Voice

Song
Flight call

About the species

Identification

A medium-sized gull, between Black-headed and Common Gull in size. In summer the head is black, the bill red, and the wings and back very pale grey without black wingtips. In winter the head is white with a dark mask behind the eye. Young birds resemble young Common Gulls. Compared with Black-headed Gull it is bulkier, with a thicker bill and all-white wingtips.

Family

Laridae

Size

Large (crow)

Colours

white, grey, black, red

About the habitat

Coastal lagoons, estuaries, salt marshes and islands, as well as inland lakes, reservoirs and flooded meadows; outside the breeding season beaches, harbours and nearby fields.

Diet

Omnivorous: insects and earthworms from fields, small fish and aquatic invertebrates, eggs and scraps.

Behaviour

Feeds by walking and picking in fields and on shores or dipping to the water surface. It breeds in noisy colonies on islands, marshes and reedbeds, often among Black-headed Gulls. Outside the breeding season it gathers in flocks to feed and roost. Its call is a distinctive nasal “yeah”.

Sources

Photo: Yu Moskalenko, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Larus melanocephalus.jpg

Sound: Pascal Christe, XC800837, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://xeno-canto.org/800837

Sound: Sonothèque ADVL, XC730823, CC0 1.0 https://xeno-canto.org/730823

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

See also