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  1. Species
  2. ›
  3. Laridae
  4. ›
  5. Leucophaeus
  6. ›
  7. Laughing Gull

BirdUp · Species

Laughing Gull

Leucophaeus atricilla(Linnaeus, 1758)

Conservation status: Least ConcernOrigin: Vagrant
Order
CHARADRIIFORMES
Family
Laridae
Genus
Leucophaeus

At a glance

The Laughing Gull, listed as Least Concern. It can be seen year-round.

Conservation status
Least Concern
Origin
Vagrant
Best seen
Year-round
Commonness
Very common
  • Identification
  • Where
  • When

01 · Identification

How to tell it apart

The laughing gull is a medium-sized gull of North and South America. Named from its laugh-like call, it is an opportunistic omnivore and scavenger. It breeds in large colonies mostly along the Atlantic coast of North America, the Caribbean, and northern South America. The two subspecies are L. a. megalopterus, which can be seen from southeast Canada down to Central America, and L. a. atricilla, which occurs from the West Indies to the Venezuelan islands. The laughing gull was long placed in the genus Larus until its present placement in Leucophaeus.

Description · wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Field specs

Wingspan
98 cm

Measurements · avonet · CC BY 4.0

03 · When

When to look

When can you see a Laughing Gull?

The Laughing Gull is present across its Australian range year-round, so it can be seen in any month.

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

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02 · Where

Where to find it

Where does the Laughing Gull live in Australia?

The Laughing Gull is found in Australia, recorded across 11 of Australia’s bioregions.

BreedingNA, MA, SA : islands off west North Atlantic coast of Maine to Florida, Gulf of Mexico to south Texas; Yucatan Pen.; Gulf of California to Colima; West Indies, islands off Yucatan Pen., and islands north of Venezuela, Trinidad, Tobago and to French Guiana

Distribution from BirdUp Australia community data

Legend

  • Non-breeding
  • Vagrant
  • Breeding

7 regions recorded