Laughing Gull
The Washington representatives of this family can be split into two groups, or subfamilies. The adaptable gulls are the most familiar. Sociable in all seasons, they are mainly coastal, but a number of species also nest inland. Many—but not all—are found around people. Gulls have highly variable foraging techniques and diets. Terns forage in flight, swooping to catch fish or insects. They dive headfirst into the water for fish. Although they are likely to be near water, they spend less time swimming than gulls.
General Description
The Laughing Gull attains full adult plumage in three years. The breeding-plumaged adult has a black hood, white crescents above and below the eyes, a red bill, and a dark gray mantle. It resembles Franklin’s Gull but is noticeably larger with black (not red) legs and solid black outer primaries (wingtips) with no white. The head of the adult in winter plumage is white with a hint of gray behind the eye, and the bill is black. As with most gulls, identification of birds in immature plumages requires care and experience; consult a good field guide.
The main population of this New World gull breeds along the coast from Atlantic Canada to the Gulf Coast states, Mexico, the West Indies, Central America, and Venezuela, and winters from the Carolinas south to Brazil and Peru. A smaller population breeds in northwestern Mexico—principally the Gulf of California. Many post-breeding birds move north to the Salton Sea and the southern California coast, but Laughing Gull is a very rare vagrant farther north along the Pacific Coast. Washington’s four records occurred from mid-July to early September. Three were along or off the outer coast and the fourth was from Wenatchee (Chelan County). Oregon has three records and there are two from British Columbia.
Revised June 2007
North American Range Map
Family Members
- Laughing GullLarus atricilla
- Franklin's GullLarus pipixcan
- Little GullLarus minutus
- Black-headed GullLarus ridibundus
- Bonaparte's GullLarus philadelphia
- Heermann's GullLarus heermanni
- Black-tailed GullLarus crassirostris
- Short-billed GullLarus canus
- Ring-billed GullLarus delawarensis
- California GullLarus californicus
- Herring GullLarus argentatus
- Thayer's GullLarus thayeri
- Iceland GullLarus glaucoides
- Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscus
- Slaty-backed GullLarus schistisagus
- Western GullLarus occidentalis
- Glaucous-winged GullLarus glaucescens
- Glaucous GullLarus hyperboreus
- Great Black-backed GullLarus marinus
- Sabine's GullXema sabini
- Black-legged KittiwakeRissa tridactyla
- Red-legged KittiwakeRissa brevirostris
- Ross's GullRhodostethia rosea
- Ivory GullPagophila eburnea
- Least TernSternula antillarum
- Caspian TernHydroprogne caspia
- Black TernChlidonias niger
- Common TernSterna hirundo
- Arctic TernSterna paradisaea
- Forster's TernSterna forsteri
- Elegant TernThalasseus elegans