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Slender-billed Gull
(Chroicocephalus genei)
German name(s): "Dünnschnabelmöwe"
Size: 37-42 cm; wing span 90-102 cm
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Similar species |
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Physical description |
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Click here for a physical description
Slender-billed Gulls are medium-sized white-headed gulls.
They take two years to reach maturity, so there
are three phases of
plumage
(the differences between
breeding and
eclipse
plumage are small).
Adult
Slender-billed Gulls have a white head, with subtle grey markings
around the eyes, neck and front. The front can have a pinkish
tinge. The upperwings are light-grey, with black-tipped outer
primaries, of which the outer 4 feathers are white. The outermost
primary has a narrow black leading edge. The tail is white.
The irises are grey.
As their name suggests, they have an untypically slender bill.
During the
breeding
season that bill is black. In
eclipse
the bill is blackish-tinged orange to dark-red.
First-winter
birds roughly resemble
adults,
but with a scalloped pattern on the wing coverts and with grey spots
behing the ears. The bill is pinkish-red with a small black tip.
The legs and feet are pale-orange.
Juveniles
resemble first-winter Slender-billed Gulls, but with
a bolder scalloped pattern on the upperwings.
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Taxonomy, classification |
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See
Slender-billed Gull at Wikipedia .
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Range, habitat, finding this species |
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Click here for information on habitat
and range
The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and
specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found,
based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to
ebird.org
.
The global distribution of the Slender-billed Gull is available
HERE
.
Slender-billed Gulls populate mostly the northern part of the
western Indian Ocean, from the Indian coastline via Pakistan
and Iran around the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea. There is
also a population in the Mediterranean. Their movements are
regionally migratory. In Europe they appear to be expanding
their range northwards from the Mediterranean into central
Europe.
In Europe Slender-billed Gulls are found along the northern
Mediterranean coastline. They breed in a few selected (near-)coastal
locations in southern Spain, the Cote d'Azure, Sardinia, near
Venice and one location in Greece. There are larger breeding
populations along the North coast of the Black Sea and the
Caspian Sea. Some Slender-billed Gulls spend the winters
along the southern Spanish coastline, in Sicily and along
the western coastline of Greece. Recently they appear to be
colonizing the European Atlantic coastline and the Baltic Sea.
Slender-billed Gulls breed on the edges of wetlands, not only in
coastal areas, but also around inland lakes and marshes. Outside
the breeding season they are found primarily in coastal, i.e.
salt water, habitats, such as beaches and estuaries, including
mudflats.
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Sightings |
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Click here for sighting information
H. Dahlem-Senger reports spotting a single Slender-billed Gull
on the German Baltic Sea coast at Fehmarn in April 2016.
D. Wilczynska spotted Slender-billed Gulls near Santa Giusta,
western Sardinia, Italy, in June 2016.
J. Pires found a Slender-billed Gull at
RN Sapal Castro Marim e VRSA-salinas Cerro do Bufo, Castro Marim,
Faro, Portugal, in October 2019. Others were found in various
locations in the Algarve, Portugal, in September/October 2020.
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Photos |
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More (and better) photos of Slender-billed Gulls in various
plumages were taken
by us in Oman.
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ADULT |
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BREEDING |
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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]
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NON-BREEDING |
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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]
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IMMATURE/JUVENILE |
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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]
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Food, Diet |
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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.