Laughing Gull

Larus atricillaLinnaeus, 1758

Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Laridae
Presence in the Strait: Vagrant
In Spanish: Gaviota guanaguanare

Photograph: Blake Ross, CC BY, vía iNaturalist

Length: 39–46 cm
Wingspan: 102–107 cm
Weight: 320 g

Presence in the Strait

Accidental. One young bird on 15th and 27th Nov.88 at Gibraltar.

Identification

A little larger than a Black-headed Gull but darker grey and with a longer bill, legs and wings. Dull red legs and white trailing edge of wings. Juveniles distinguished from Black-headed Gulls by their dusky necks, breast-band and flanks and dark-sided tail. They breed in Noth America. Laridae Gaviota Picofina juv.1º inv ad. Gaviota de Audouin ad. juv.2º ver ad. ad. Gaviota Guanaguanare

Bioestrecho editorial text. Last revised: 8 September 2026.

Photographs from iNaturalist observations with the licence checked file by file. Those marked “Strait” were taken within the area; place and date are those of each observation.

Calendar in the Strait

No observations with a compatible licence in the area, or taxon without a match in GBIF.

Same genus in the Strait

Mew Gull38–44 cm · Occasional · overlapping size
Ring-billed Gull41–49 cm · Vagrant · overlapping size
Mediterranean Gull36–38 cm · Seasonal
Audouin´s Gull48–52 cm · Seasonal
Lesser Black-backed Gull52–67 cm · Seasonal

Species of the same genus that also occur here, ordered by how close they are in size. Being relatives does not mean they are confused in the field, but that is where the doubts start: compare size and season.

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Laridae
GBIF taxon key: 2481192

Sources

Distribution and calendar: GBIF, live query
Photograph: Blake Ross, CC BY, vía iNaturalist
Taxonomy: GBIF backbone, pending WoRMS for marine taxa
Editorial text: written by Bioestrecho
Last revised: 8 September 2026

Laughing Gull

Presence in the Strait

Identification

Gallery