Juvenile Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla)
The laughing gull (Leucophaeus atricilla) is a medium-sized gull of North and South America. Named for its laugh-like call, it is an opportunistic omnivore and scavenger. It breeds in large colonies mostly along the Atlantic coast of North America, the Caribbean, and northern South America.
This species is 36–41 cm (14–16 in) long with a 98–110 cm (39–43 in) wingspan and a weight range[4] of 203–371g (7.2-13.1 oz). The summer adult's body is white apart from the dark grey back and wings and black head.
Its wings are much darker grey than all other gulls of similar size except the smaller Franklin's gull, and they have black tips without the white crescent shown by Franklin's. The beak is long and red. The black hood is mostly lost in winter.
Laughing gulls take three years to reach adult plumage. Immature birds are always darker than most similar-sized gulls other than Franklin's. First-year birds are greyer below and have paler heads than first-year Franklin's, and second-years can be distinguished by the wing pattern and structure.
This image was taken on Aruba, one of the Leeward Antilles Islands
Juvenile Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla)
The laughing gull (Leucophaeus atricilla) is a medium-sized gull of North and South America. Named for its laugh-like call, it is an opportunistic omnivore and scavenger. It breeds in large colonies mostly along the Atlantic coast of North America, the Caribbean, and northern South America.
This species is 36–41 cm (14–16 in) long with a 98–110 cm (39–43 in) wingspan and a weight range[4] of 203–371g (7.2-13.1 oz). The summer adult's body is white apart from the dark grey back and wings and black head.
Its wings are much darker grey than all other gulls of similar size except the smaller Franklin's gull, and they have black tips without the white crescent shown by Franklin's. The beak is long and red. The black hood is mostly lost in winter.
Laughing gulls take three years to reach adult plumage. Immature birds are always darker than most similar-sized gulls other than Franklin's. First-year birds are greyer below and have paler heads than first-year Franklin's, and second-years can be distinguished by the wing pattern and structure.
This image was taken on Aruba, one of the Leeward Antilles Islands