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Black-headed Gull Chroicocepahalus ridibundus [Linnaeus, 1766]
Other Names
Trends & Distribution
Breeding & Survival
Biometrics
Books & Links
Order:
Charadriiformes
Family:
Laridae
BTO Codes:
BH , BLHGU
EURING No:
5820
Number in Britain:
128 thousand pairs (Summer)
Conservation Status:
UK:
AMBER
European:
Not a species of concern
Global:
Least Concern
View video clips from
IBC
Status in UK:
(A) Migrant/Resident Breeder, Passage/Winter Visitor
Subspecies:
Monotypic
.
Length:
36 cm
Wingspan:
105 cm
Weight:
M: 330 g F: 250 g
Scientific name from:
Gr.: kroikos =coloured + kephale =head
and L.: ridere + abundare =abounds
World Distribution:
BREEDS: Europe, n&c Asia, ne North America, WINTERS: south to c Africa, s Asia, e US
Habitat:
Lakes, rivers, moors, grassland, coasts
Diet:
Opportunist, insects, earthworms, also plant material and scraps
TitBit:
Now a common visitor to the garden, the birds habit of venturing into urban areas appears to date only to the 'Little Ice-Age', a run of cold-winters in the 1880s and 1890s when factory workers would feed the birds scraps during their lunch hours
Population and Distribution
Population Trend:
No population trend available
Distribution:
Atlas Maps
(Help with the New Atlas )
British Population Size:
Summer:
128 thousand pairs
in 1998-02
Winter:
2.1 to 2.2 million indviduals
in 1993
 
First Record:
1536
Latest Survey:
Mitchell, P.I. et al. (2004) Seabird populations of Britain and Ireland Poyser, London
Habitat Occupancy (in the Breeding Season):
Most frequent in:
Estuaries
Relative Frequency in Each Habitat:
European Population Size:
Summer:
1.3 to 1.7 million pairs
Population Assesment from Birds in Europe
Distribution in Europe
Listed on the Appendices/Schedules of:
WBD(II*), Bern(III)
Survey Results:
BirdTrack
Garden BirdWatch
Seabird 2000 (warning: link to large pdf)
Breeding and Survival
Egg Size:
53 x 37 mm
Egg Weight:
37.5 g (of which 6 % is shell)
Number of Nest Records:
295
Clutch Size:
2 - 3 eggs
Incubation:
23 - 26 days
by the:
Male + Female
Fledging:
34 - 36 days
as:
Semi-precocial, downy
First Clutches Laid:
Unavailable
Number of Broods:
1
Number Ringed:
5485
Adult Survival:
0.76
Juvenile Survival:
0.447 (to age 2 )
Age at First Breeding:
2
years
Typical Lifespan:
6
years
Maximum Recorded Age:
27yr0m
(Finland: 30yr 7m)
Biometrics
Ring Size:
E
Wing Length
Adult:
305.3 ± 11.8
Range
287 - 323 mm, N =9456
Juvenile:
300.5 ± 11.7
283 - 318 mm, N =790
Male:
312.2 ± 9.0
298 - 326 mm, N =191
Female:
297.1 ± 8.6
281 - 314 mm, N =98
Weight
Adult:
289.3 ± 33.75
Range
240.0 - 348.0 g , N =9111
Juvenile:
285.6 ± 41.69
217.5 - 359.5 g , N =800
Male:
287.9 ± 39.13
245.0 - 345.0 g , N =148
Female:
251.6 ± 28.47 .
200.0 - 307.0 g , N =59
Source:
British Trust for Ornithology (2005) Ringing Scheme data
Other Names
Previously Larus ridibundis
Gaelic:
Faoileag-a’-chinn-duibh
Welsh:
Gwylan Penddu
Danish:
Hættemåge
Dutch:
Kokmeeuw
Finnish:
Naurulokki
French:
Mouette rieuse
German:
Lachmöwe
Hungarian:
Dankasirály
Icelandic:
Hettumáfur
Irish:
Sléibhín
Italian:
Gabbiano comune
Norwegian:
Hettemåke
Polish:
Smieszka (mewa smieszka)
Portuguese:
Guincho-comum
Spanish:
Gaviota reidora
Swedish:
Skrattmås
Local Names: Petch, Hoodie Maa, Rittick
For More Information...
Books and Monographs:
No books written recently
See Also:
All About Birds (Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
Gough, G.A. et al. (1998) Patuxent Bird Identification Infocenter
Wikipedia entry
State of the Nations Birds by Chris Mead
Recent sightings and information from BirdGuides.com
Selected scientific papers published 1980-2005
Find more papers on Google Scholar
Find more papers on Scirus
BirdFacts home | BTO Home Email: birdfacts@bto.org These data should be cited as: Robinson, R.A. (2005) BirdFacts: profiles of birds occurring in Britain & Ireland (v1.21, Jun 2008). BTO Research Report 407, BTO, Thetford (http://www.bto.org/birdfacts)
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