Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla)

• Appearance: black-tipped wings, black feet, black head and red beak during breeding season which fade to white head and black beak after breeding season
• Length: 15 to 18 inches (about 1.25 to 1.5 feet)
• Wingspan: 36 to 47 inches (about 3 to 4 feet)
• Status: common, populations increasing
  • Faced extinction in late 1800s due to overhunting for their eggs and plumage
  • Also was susceptible to eggshell thinning caused by DDT spraying in mid-1900s
• Habitat
  • Coastal gulls, rarely found inland
  • Forage in salt marshes, beaches, mangroves, or agricultural fields and landfills along the coast
  • Found on East Coast of U.S., Gulf Coast, and coastal Mexico
• Diet
  • Opportunistic feeder – eats anything that is available: earthworms, insects, snails, crustaceans and their eggs, fish and their eggs, berries, garbage, carrion, handouts from beach-goers, sometimes eat tern eggs
  • Laughing gulls can become extremely sick and may die after eating plastics
  • Mostly forage during the day, but may also hunt at night during breeding season
    • Laughing gulls hover around lights to catch bugs
    • They may even steal food from larger birds, such as terns or pelicans

• Migration
  • Long Island is near the northern limit of the laughing gull’s breeding range
  • Autumn migration begins in October
  • Migrate as far as northern South America, overwinter along coast
    • Northeast birds tend to migrate farther south than Gulf Coast birds
  • Populations move inland in Mexico and are joined by migratory flocks
    • Overwintering habitat extended to rivers, streams, and landfills
  • Laughing gulls arrive at their breeding site around April
  • Average flight speed is about 15 mph
• Nesting
  • Nest on salt marshes: sand, rocks, dead vegetation, leaves of low plants
    • Nest beyond reach of high tide to avoid nest flooding
    • In the hot sun,the gulls stay on their nests, but pant to cool off
  • Laughing gulls nest in colonies with members of their own and other species of shorebirds and terns, colonies usually return to the same nest site every year
    • Colonies can reach up to 50,000 birds
    • Habitat loss may cause breeding colonies to abandon the area
  • Both sexes normally build nest- male brings materials, female arranges
  • Average brood is 2-4 brown eggs with black spots
    • First egg is the largest = strongest offspring
    • Each egg laid after is slightly smaller than the last
    • “Inferior chick” is an adaptation in case of a shortage of food during the breeding season, and will be outcompeted by siblings
  • Laughing gulls may breed with the same mates for several years
  • Laughing gulls are sociable with other laughing gulls, but aggressive towards other types of birds when defending their territory
  • While comfortable around humans, they will fly away when approached
• “Young of the Year”

First summer:                                    First winter:                                  Second winter:

• • Chicks leave the nest when they are only a few days old, but parents care for them
  • Fledglings begin to fly after 5 weeks and begin to forage for themselves
    • Their first plumage is brown to camouflage them with the sand BUT it is not ideal for camouflage in flight
  • After about 3 years, fledglings finally shed all their brown feathers
  • Laughing gulls live about 20 years, the oldest captured was 22 years old