Mediterranean gull
Mediterranean gull | |
---|---|
Breeding plumage | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Charadriiformes |
Family: | Laridae |
Genus: | Ichthyaetus |
Species: | I. melanocephalus
|
Binomial name | |
Ichthyaetus melanocephalus (Temminck, 1820)
| |
Range of I. melanocephalus Breeding Resident Non-breeding
| |
Synonyms | |
Larus melanocephalus |
The Mediterranean gull (Ichthyaetus melanocephalus) is a small gull. The scientific name is from Ancient Greek. The genus Ichthyaetus is from ikhthus, "fish", and aetos, "eagle", and the specific melanocephalus is from melas, "black", and -kephalos "-headed".[2]
This gull breeds almost entirely in the
Description
The Mediterranean gull is slightly larger and bulkier than the
-
non-breeding plumage, UK
-
non-breeding plumage, Romania
-
breeding plumage, Ukraine
Distribution
Formerly restricted to the
In winter, this bird migrates to Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts.
Ecology
This gull breeds in colonies in large reed beds or marshes, or on islands in lakes; where its population is small, it nests in black-headed gull colonies. Like most gulls, it is highly gregarious in winter, both when feeding or in evening roosts. It is not a pelagic species, and is rarely seen at sea far from coasts.
The Mediterranean gull's feeding habits are much an opportunistic omnivore, eating fish, worms, insects, eggs, young birds, offal and carrion.
This is a noisy species, especially at colonies, with a nasal "yeah" call.
Conservation
The Mediterranean gull is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (
References
- ^ BirdLife International (2015) [errata version of 2012 assessment]. "Larus melanocephalus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012: e.T22694443A85050054. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
- ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
- ^ Peterson, R.; Mountfort, G.; Hollom, P.A.S. (1967). A Field Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe. Collins.
- ^ Holling, Mark (September 2010). "Rare breeding birds in the United Kingdom in 2008" (PDF). British Birds. 103. Rare Breeding Birds Panel: 482–538. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-19. Retrieved 2012-02-26.
- ^ Daryl Short (2024). "Breeding Mediterranean Gills at Forvie NNR, Newburgh, Northeast Scotland 2023". Scottish Birds. 44 (1): 85–87.
External links
- BirdLife species factsheet for Larus melanocephalus
- "Ichthyaetus melanocephalus". Avibase.
- "Mediterranean gull media". Internet Bird Collection.
- Mediterranean gull photo gallery at VIREO (Drexel University)
- Interactive range map of Ichthyaetus melanocephalus at IUCN Red List maps
- Audio recordings of Mediterranean gull on Xeno-canto.
- Ichthyaetus melanocephalus in Field Guide: Birds of the World on Flickr
- Mediterranean gull media from ARKive