Birds · Charadriiformes · Laridae

Black-headed Gull

Chroicocephalus ridibundus

Least Concern

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

The black-headed gull is the commonest small gull in Europe, recognisable in summer by its chocolate-brown hood and in winter by a simple dark smudge behind the eye. It breeds in colonies in freshwater and brackish wetlands, and outside the breeding season it spreads out across coasts, farmland, reservoirs and cities. It is extraordinarily adaptable and follows tractors during fieldwork to snap up the invertebrates turned out of the soil.

Weight

267 g – 294 g

Size

34 cm – 44 cm

Lifespan

32 years

Diet

Omnivore

Combines animal and plant food depending on availability.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Colony

Lives in large concentrations, often for breeding reasons.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

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63countries 53parks19same family

Fun facts

comunicaciónFor all its name, its call is nothing like a laugh but a shrill, repeated shriek used mostly in alarm or in territorial disputes.
Its hood is not black but chocolate brown, and does not cover the whole head but only reaches the nape: in winter it loses it and only a dark smudge behind the eye remains.
It was one of the key species in Niko Tinbergen's classic studies of animal behaviour, which won him the Nobel Prize: its colonies served to describe how social signals and responses to predators work.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
Habitat & environment: Marshes, lagoons, deltas, reservoirs, harbours and farmland of Eurasia
Sexual maturity: 2 years
Gestation / incubation: 22 days
Litter / clutch size: 3

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