News Excerpt:

Laughing gulls has been sighted for the first time in the country in Kerala.

About Laughing Gull:

• The laughing gull (Leucophaeus atricilla) is a migratory medium-sized gull of North and South America.
• Breeding plumage shows black head with white eye arcs, small white spots on black wingtips, and deep red bill and legs.
• Nonbreeding plumage has smudgy gray cheek and dark bill and legs.
• Juveniles are browner with neat scaly pattern on upperparts.
• Named for its laugh-like call, it is an opportunistic omnivore and scavenger.
• Laughing gulls are coastal birds; they can be found in salt marshes, estuaries, coastal bays, along beaches, or on agricultural fields near the coast.
• Laughing gulls are active during the day, however, when the breeding season comes they may switch to nocturnal activity and forage at night as well.
• They breed from early April and until July. Pairs nest in large colonies. They construct large nests on the ground.
• Females lay 3-4 greenish eggs and incubate them for about three weeks.
• Both parents care for their young until they fledge which happens at around 35 days old.
• Laughing gulls usually become reproductively mature when they are two years old.
• IUCN status: Least Concern