Saturday, March 8, 2014

Laughing Gull

Laughing gulls are slaty gray above and white below, the head is mostly white with gray streaking on the crown and back of head, the bill is black with a slight reddish tinge, the eyes have white arcs around them, and the legs are reddish black to black. In the summer, breeding adults develop a black hood and a reddish bill and look quite extraordinary. It is quite a transformation, from winter to summer. I saw these laughing gulls in January 2014 at Canaveral Seashore in Florida. I would love to see them in their breeding plumage. 
The reddish black legs, white arcs around the eyes and slaty gray back standout on this laughing gull.
This laughing gull has a more reddish bill and less reddish legs than the one above.




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