Laughing Gull
Laughing Gull ( Leucophaeus atricilla ), summer dress
The Laughing Gull ( Leucophaeus atricilla, syn. Larus atricilla ) is a North American species of the family of gulls ( Laridae ). It is occasionally observed in Europe as Irrgast. Most often they can be found in the UK and Ireland, while it is an extremely rare exception guest in Central Europe.
The zoological epithet atricilla consists of the two Latin words ater for black and cilla for cock together. A black band on the tail, it shows but only in the third year.
Features
The medium size of about 37 to 42 cm of length and 98 to 110 cm wingspan and long -winged Gull is hardly confused with other gulls. From the third year head, legs and feet are black, while the long, curved at the tip of something beak is red. The forehead is flat, and the eyes she is wearing above and below white, thin, crescent moon-shaped spots. The wings are dark gray, and the flight feathers are black on the outside. In winter they change their plumage color to white, and the beak is black.
The immature plumage is mottled brown, while the belly is pale gray and beak, outer flight feathers, legs, feet and tail are black. The whole head is feathered in a warm brown color. The first winter plumage shows a dark gray back, head and neck and gradually switch to white. In the second winter of this white is dirty and then almost the whole tail is also white.
The very loud call sounds like a tangled, rough and very high-pitched laugh.
Occurrence
Aztecs gulls usually occur on the east coast of the USA. Further north they are represented only in the summer. The breeding areas extend from the coasts of Florida via the Caribbean and California to the northern coasts of South America, often they migrate to Western Europe.
Nutrition
The diet of the Aztecs gulls consists of aquatic invertebrates, insects, worms, carrion and occasionally fish. If possible, they steal like most other birds seagulls the feed, or eggs and chicks from other nests. The feed is picked either on the beach, it is dipped thereafter, or other birds are attacked while in flight until they drop their prey. However Aztecs gulls are not as aggressive as many other gulls, except to the chicks of Arctic Terns (Sterna paradisaea ), here the aggression in recent years have even increased. More rarely, Aztecs gulls feed but also vegetable.
Reproduction
The breeding season of the Aztecs monogamous gulls begins in early April and lasts until July. The nesting colonies can be very large area. Usually the nests are built on the ground or near the coast in the beach vegetation in river deltas or in ponds. The female lays two to four (usually three) greenish eggs and both parent birds incubate them for about 21 to 23 days. The chicks leave the nest just a few days after hatching. The adult birds they provide about 35 days.