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10

Slender-billed Gull

(Chroicocephalus genei)
German name(s): "Dünnschnabelmöwe"
Size: 37-42 cm; wing span 90-102 cm

Similar
species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description

Click here for a physical description

Taxonomy, classification

See Slender-billed Gull at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species

Click here for information on habitat and range

Sightings

Click here for sighting information

Photos

More (and better) photos of Slender-billed Gulls in various plumages were taken by us in Oman.

ADULT

Sex unknown

BREEDING

Lateral view of a Slender-billed Gull in breeding plumage - note the typical grey-and-white body plumage of an adult white-headed gull, combined with the characteristic black bill; on the left a Greater Flamingo (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[RN Sapal Castro Marim e VRSA-salinas Cerro do Bufo, Castro Marim, Faro, Portugal, October 2019]

Lateral view of Slender-billed Gulls in flight (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Santa Giusta, western Sardinia, Italy, June 2016]

NON-BREEDING

Lateral view of a Slender-billed Gull in non-breeding plumage; note the orange-red bill (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sapal Castro Marim, Vila Real Santo Antonio, Algarve, Portugal, September 2020]

Lateral view of a Slender-billed Gull in non-breeding plumage in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sapal Castro Marim, Vila Real Santo Antonio, Algarve, Portugal, September 2020]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Lateral view of a first-winter Slender-billed Gull, front, with an adult in non-breeding plumage behind
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Fishing Port, Vila Real Santo Antonio, Algarve, Portugal, October 2020]

Food, Diet

Like all gulls, Slender-billed Gulls are opportunistic. They will feed on anything from carrion and discarded entrails to fish, chicks of other bird species and eggs; they also scrape mud or sand in search of prey and will take insects in flight.

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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