All species › Waders, gulls and terns › Skimmers, noddies, terns and gulls › Grey-headed Gull
Grey-headed Gull | Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus
Grijskopmeeuw | Gaviota Cabecigrís | Gaivota-de-cabeça-cinza
Grey-headed Gull is a medium-sized hooded gull with a strikingly pale iris that occurs both in South America and in sub-Saharan Africa. In the guide area it breeds on the coast of Ecuador and Peru. In breeding plumage it is the only gull here with a pale grey hood.
Voice
A hoarse, crow-like kraah and laughing, grating calls, especially in colonies.
Recording: isaac kilusu — CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · xeno-canto
Identification
40–43 cm, with a fairly long red bill, red legs and a pale yellow to whitish iris with a red orbital ring. Adults have a mid-grey mantle, a white patch on the leading edge of the outer wing and an extensive black wingtip with small white mirrors; the underwing is grey with a black tip. In breeding plumage a pale grey hood with a darker border; in non-breeding plumage a white head with a faint grey wash. Juveniles have a brown-mottled upperwing, a dark ear spot, a black tail band and a pale bill with a dark tip. The sexes are alike.
Confusion species
Black-headed Gull Chroicocephalus ridibundus is smaller, with a dark iris and a brown hood in breeding plumage. Andean Gull Chroicocephalus serranus is larger, with a black hood in breeding plumage, a dark iris and a large white wedge in the wingtip. Laughing Gull Leucophaeus atricilla and Franklin's Gull Leucophaeus pipixcan have a darker mantle, a black hood and a dark iris.
Habitat
Tidal flats, lagoons, mangroves, sandy beaches, harbours and fishing villages; locally also coastal lakes and shrimp farms. It eats fish, crustaceans, insects and fish waste and follows fishing boats. It breeds in colonies on islets, in marshes or among mangroves; the nest is a heap of plant material on the ground.
Where the bird is most at home, classified by the vegetation units of the Andes and the west coast.
Range and movements
In Ecuador along the south-west coast, especially around the Gulf of Guayaquil. In Peru along the coast, mainly in the north and centre, south to the Lima area and locally beyond. In Colombia and Bolivia at most rare or irregular; absent from the Galápagos. Outside the guide area in eastern South America (Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina) and in sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar.
- Resident
- dark = core range, pale = thinly spread
How and when to look
Check gull flocks on beaches, in harbours and at shrimp farms around the Gulf of Guayaquil and on the north coast of Peru; in breeding plumage the pale grey hood stands out, and the pale iris all year.
Conservation status
Least Concern. The world population is large; disturbance of breeding colonies and the loss of mangroves and coastal lagoons may play a role locally.
Scientific name
Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus | (Vieillot, 1818)
Vieillot described the species in 1818 as Larus cirrocephalus; because it was later moved to another genus, the author and year stand in brackets. The genus Chroicocephalus was introduced in 1836 by Eyton. The genus name is from Greek khrōikos, 'coloured', and -kephalos, '-headed', after the coloured head in breeding plumage. The species name comes from Modern Latin cirrus, 'cloud' (classical Latin cirrus, 'curl, ringlet'), and Greek -kephalos, '-headed'; compare Greek kirrhos, 'orange-tawny'. The specimen the first description was based on came from Brazil.