White-eyed Gull
Weißaugenmöwe ( Ichthyaetus leucophthalmus )
The Weißaugenmöwe ( Ichthyaetus leucophthalmus ) is a species of bird in the family of seagulls. The relatively small area of distribution is limited to the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, where the species breeds on offshore islands. The IUCN classifies the species as Weißaugenmöwe the early warning ( " near threatened ").
Features
White gulls eyes are medium-sized and slender gulls. With a body length of 39-43 cm and a wingspan of 100-109 cm this species is about the size of a Common Gull. In breeding plumage the head, neck and bib are black, above and below the eye is in each case a broad white crescent. The chest and shoulders are light gray, the back and upper wing-coverts dark gray, the rest of the fuselage and the tail are white. The wings are gray and the other black at the base, the secondaries and inner primaries are edged with white. The lower wing is almost monochrome gray, only the tips of the outer primaries are blackish. The long and slender beak is two-tone with red base and black tip. The iris is dark, the legs are pale greenish yellow.
In finishing the black dress in breeding plumage head region is dashed black on a whitish ground.
In juvenile plumage the head, neck, upper chest, shoulders and wings are almost uniformly dark brown gray. The crescents around the eyes are already present, but considerably narrower than in adult animals. The upper wing-coverts are also dark brown gray, but wide margins pale brownish. The wings and the tail feathers are almost monochrome blackish, the secondaries and inner primaries are edged as in the adult white. The rest of the body is white, the rump is white with dark dashes or mottling. The beak is uniformly dark gray; the legs are bright pink yellowish. At the age of three years, the birds are fully colored.
Distribution and habitat
The relatively small area of distribution is limited to the shores of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Outside the breeding season, white eyes gulls are also found in the Gulf of Aqaba and on the open sea. Vagrants were detected on Israel's Mediterranean Sea coast, in the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Iran in Turkey.
Way of life
White Eye seagulls looking mainly on the coastal sea for food, some Egyptian populations but also use landfills as a food source. The diet consists of fish, crustaceans, molluscs, annelids and waste. The species breeds on coastal, flat islands in loose colonies near the beach. The nests are on free from vegetation, rocky terrain or on open sandy areas. The nest is a flat bottom trough, which is bounded with some material.
Inventory and risk
The IUCN is the world stock without Eritrea in 2003 with 12,000-13,000 breeding pairs, including Eritrea estimating the world stock at 37000-44000 individuals. The largest holdings have at least 3900 pairs of Yemen, Egypt with 2,500 couples and Somalia from 1200 to 2200 pairs.
The stock is still considered stable, but the IUCN fears a population decline within the next three generations (33 years). The main risk factors apply to the breeding islands introduced Bodenprädatoren, such as rats, as well as oil spills on the sea and on the beaches. Other hazards exist through the use of chicks and eggs for human consumption ( especially in Somalia ), disturbances in the breeding colonies by fishermen and tourists as well as by drilling for oil search. The IUCN classifies the Weißaugenmöwe therefore as a kind of early warning ( " near threatened ").