# Laughing Gull

Scientific name: Leucophaeus atricilla

Bird group: [gull](https://birdsofpuertorico.com/family/gull)

Canonical source: https://birdsofpuertorico.com/bird/122/Laughing-Gull

## Identification

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. The two subspecies are: L. a. megalopterus – which can be seen from southeast Canada down to Central America, and L. a. atricilla which appears from the West Indies to the Venezuelan islands. The laughing gull was long placed in the genus Larus until its present placement in Leucophaeus, which follows the American Ornithologists' Union.
This species is easy to identify. It is 36–41 cm (14–16 in) long with a 98–110 cm (39–43 in) wingspan and a weight range 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.


## Distribution and habitat

The Laughing Gull occurs through the tropical, subtropical, 
and some temperate areas of the 
Western Hemisphere including 
the West Indies, where it is 
generally common from April 
to September and becomes 
irregular and rare during the 
rest of the year throughout most 
of the islands (Raffaele and 
others 1998). It usually nests 
on offshore rocky cays around 
Culebra, Mona, and Monito 
(Oberle 2018). On Vieques, it 
ranges from fairly common to 
rare (Gemmill 2015). It usually 
inhabits marshes, coastal marine 
waters, tidal fl ats (Oberle 2018), calm bays, and offshore islets 
(Raffaele and others 1998). 
Although it is most common 
in coastal areas, it may move 
inland and frequent landfills and 
reservoirs. The atlas fieldwork 
yielded a total of 124 records 
within 80 hexagons or 17 percent 
of the 479 total hexagons (see 
map). Of the 80 hexagons where 
this species was found, breeding 
met the atlas definition of 
confirmed in 5 percent (4) of the 
hexagons, probable in 3 percent 
(2), and possible in 3 percent 
(2) as well, while the species 
was observed in 90 percent (72) 
of the hexagons but without 
evidence of breeding (see map).Laughing Gull distribution. The map shows the highest breeding code by hexagon and overlaying the ecological life zones in 
Puerto Rico. Note: percentages may not total 100 due to rounding.      113Laughing Gull/Gaviota Gallega

## Breeding

Previously published reports indicate that the Laughing 
Gull breeds from May to July 
(Raffaele and others 1998). The 
nest consists of a scrape with 
lined grass, usually made on the 
ground of a beach or in a crevice 
of a rocky cay, and sometimes 
near a colony of other seabirds 
(Oberle 2018, Raffaele and others 
1998). Atlas results show that this 
species breeds mostly from May 
to July, and to a lesser extent 
also during March (see chart). 
Overall, the breeding activity peaks in July, and it mostly takes 
place within the subtropical 
dry forest life zone (see chart). 
Results (see table and map) 
show that this species breeds 
mostly in coastal areas within the 
subtropical dry forest life zone 
(75 percent of the hexagons), 
but it may also breed within the 
subtropical moist forest life zone 
(25 percent of the hexagons).

## Conservation

The overall population trend of the Laughing Gull is described 
as increasing, although some populations have unknown 
trends (Butcher and Niven 2007, 
Wetlands International 2012), 
and it is currently listed as a 
species of least concern by the 
IUCN (BirdLife International 
2018). Locally, this species is not 
listed in any of the threatened 
categories of PRDNER and 
USFWS. In Puerto Rico, the 
Laughing Gull has a protected 
habitat in land of 6 percent or 
12 km2 of the total area covered by the hexagons where evidence 
of breeding was found for this 
species (191 km2).

Photo: https://birdsofpuertorico.com/static/images/webp/in_122_Im0.png.webp

Distribution map: https://birdsofpuertorico.com/static/images/webp/in_122_Im1.png.webp

Source note: Text is reproduced from this site's published record. Historical conservation statements and taxonomy have not been independently revalidated. See https://birdsofpuertorico.com/about for source credits and limitations.