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Heuglin's Gull
(Larus heuglini)
: "Lesser Black-backed Gull", "Siberian Gull", "Taimyr Gull"
Size: 53-70 cm; wing span: 1.38-1.58 m
Weight: 745-1360 g
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Similar
species |
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Physical description |
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 Click here for a physical description
Heuglin's Gulls are large, white-headed gulls.
They take 3 years to reach maturity, so there are 4 phases of their
plumage.
Adult
Heuglin's Gulls have an all-white head and front. The belly can have
a light-grey tinge.
The wings are grey, with black tips on the outer primaries, which
in turn have white spots on them. In-flight the wings show white
leading and trailing edges. The tail is white.
Outside the breeding season the back of the head can be slightly
streaked grey, but otherwise, except for wear and tear, the
plumage remains
the same.
Their most prominent (but not unique!) feature is the rather
long, slender
yellow bill with a red spot near the tip of the lower mandible.
The irises are pale-grey. The legs and feet are yellow.
There are 3 different
immature plumages.
Second-year birds have a white head with grey around the eyes
and some faint streaking at the nape of the neck, a mostly light-grey
front and mottled grey sides. The wings are mostly grey, with
strong mottling on the coverts; the tips of the outer primaries
and the tail are black. The legs and feet are pale-pink.
The irises are quite dark. The frontal half of the bill is
black, while the rest is pale-yellow.
Except for their white chin and breast, first-year Heuglin's Gulls
have a grey front and are otherwise mottled grey, with some
streaking on the sides, but a bolder scalloped pattern on the wings.
The irises are dark. The bill is black with a greyish base.
Juveniles have an all-black bill, a strongly streaked neck,
except for a white chin patch a finely scalloped front and
boldly scalloped brownish-grey wings.
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Taxonomy, classification |
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See Heuglin's
Gull at Wikipedia  .
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Range, habitat |
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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
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The global distribution of Heuglin's Gull is available
HERE
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Heuglin's Gulls are a migratory species.
Their breeding grounds lie in the tundra of northern Russia,
from the Kola peninsula in the West to the Taimyr peninsula
in the East. Reports from Finland indicate that they may breed
there.
Heuglin's Gulls spend the northern winter farther South, in
south-western Asia, the Indian subcontinent, East Asia, Arabia
and East Africa.
In Arabia Heuglin's Gulls are usally seen as winter visitors or
on passage between Africa and Asia.
Outside their breeding season Heuglin's Gulls are a coastal species.
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Sightings |
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Click here for sighting information
An Heuglin's Gull was first spotted by us on a beach in the Batinah
region, about 100 km West of Muscat, in May 2010.
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Photos |
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IMMATURE/JUVENILE |
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Second-year Heuglin's Gull, seen together with an adult Sooty Gull in the foreground
[Batinah region, May 2010]
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Food, Diet |
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Like all gulls, Heuglin's Gulls are opportunistic. They will feed on
anything from carrion and discarded entrails to fish, chicks of
other bird species and eggs.
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.
Breeding
Nest
Eggs
Behaviour
Call/s
