Birds · Charadriiformes · Laridae

Gray Gull

Leucophaeus modestus

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The grey gull, a plain grey gull of the Humboldt Current, has an extraordinary breeding biology: it feeds on the coast but breeds inland in the Atacama Desert, tens or even more than a hundred kilometres from the sea, on salt flats and plains utterly devoid of vegetation and water.

Weight

300 g – 450 g

Size

45 cm – 50 cm

Lifespan

15 years

Diet

Carnivore

Feeds mainly on other animals.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Colony

Lives in large concentrations, often for breeding reasons.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

DesertOceanCarnivore Diurnal Colonial Bird Desert Ocean

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Fun facts

It breeds in the middle of the Atacama Desert, the most arid place on the planet, more than a hundred kilometres from the coast and on plains without a drop of water: the adults cover that distance twice a day to feed their chicks.
Its colonies were discovered very late: for decades it was known that the species bred somewhere inland, but the first colonies were not located until well into the twentieth century.
The eggs and chicks, exactly the colour of the desert's salt crust, are invisible from a few metres away, and the adults leave the nest as soon as they spot an intruder in the distance.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
Habitat & environment: The Pacific coast of Peru and Chile; breeds inland in the Atacama Desert
Sexual maturity: 3 years
Gestation / incubation: 27 days of incubation
Litter / clutch size: 2 eggs

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leucophaeus_modestus