Black-headed Gull Chroicocephalus ridibundus

Linnaeus, 1766

Key Facts

Measurements	Length: 36 cm    |  Wingspan: 105 cm    |  Weight: Male 330 g   Female 250 g
Identification Tips	View pictures from the Crossley ID Guide , or a BTO video guide to this and similar species , or listen to sound-clips from Xeno-Canto
World Distribution	BREEDS: Europe, n&c; Asia, ne North America, WINTERS: south to c Africa, s Asia, e US
Found in	Lakes, rivers, moors, grassland, coasts
Diet	Opportunist, insects, earthworms, also plant material and scraps
Scientific name from	Gr.: kroikos=coloured + kephale=head and L.: ridere=to laugh + abundare=abounds
Subspecies	Monotypic
TitBit	Now a common visitor to the garden, the birds habit of venturing into urban areas appears to date only to the 'Little Ice-Age', a run of cold-winters in the 1880s and 1890s when factory workers would feed the birds scraps during their lunch hours.

Population Trends & Distribution

Population Trends	from the Seabird Monitoring Programme or the Wetland Bird Survey
Distribution Maps	from the Atlas Mapstore
British Population Size
Summer:	140 thousand Pairs in 1998-02
also occurs in Winter:	2.2 million individuals in 2003-06
First Record	Recorded in Medieval times
Current Conservation Status	AMBER because Recent Moderate Winter Population Decline, Important Non-Breeding Population
Past Assessments	2015-2020 AMBER 2009-2014 AMBER 2002-2007 AMBER 1996-2001 GREEN
Historical Trends	1800-49 1850-99 1900-39 1940-69 1969-95 1996-2020
Listed on the Annexes of	WBD(II*), Bern(III)
European Population Size	3.4 million pairs (2.8 to 4.1 million pairs)
European Population Status	Habitats Directive Report
European Distribution Map	European Breeding Bird Atlas
Breeding Season Habitats	Most frequent in: Estuaries

Relative Frequency in Each Habitat

Heathland

Moorland

Pasture

Arable

Marsh

Bogs

Reedbed

Lakes

Ponds

Rivers

Streams

Estuaries

Shoreline

Migration & Movements

View movements of the last year using the EuroBirdPortal Viewer

View a summary of recoveries in the Online Ringing Report

Breeding & Survival

-- Productivity and Nesting Success
View latest trends from the Nest Record Scheme
Number of Broods	1
Egg Size	53 x 37 mm    Weight = 37.5 g (of which 6 % is shell)
Clutch Size	2 - 3 eggs
Incubation Period	23 - 26 days | by Male + Female
Fledging Period	34 - 36 days | as Semi-precocial, downy
-- Survival and Longevity
Maximum Age from Ringing	32 years 3 months 26 days (set in 2018)
Typical Lifespan	11 years with breeding typically at 2 years
Adult Survival	0.900
Juvenile Survival	0.447 (to age 2 )
View number ringed each year in the Online Ringing Report

Biometrics

Ring Size	E
Wing Length
Adults	305.3 ± 11.8   |   Range 287 - 323 mm, N =9456
Juveniles	Insufficient Data
Males	312.2 ± 9.0   |   Range 298 - 326 mm, N =191
Females	297.1 ± 8.6   |   Range 281 - 314 mm, N =98
Feather measurements and photos on featherbase
Body Weight
Adults	289.3 ± 33.75   |   Range 240.0 - 348.0 g , N =9111
Juveniles	Insufficient Data
Males	287.9 ± 39.13   |   Range 245.0 - 345.0 g , N =148
Females	251.6 ± 28.47   |   Range 200.0 - 307.0 g , N =59

Other names

Also known as Common Black-headed Gull
Previously Larus ridibundis
For information in another language (where available) click on a linked name
Gaelic: Faoileag-a’-chinn-duibh	Welsh: Gwylan Benddu	Catalan: gavina riallera
Czech: racek chechtavý	Danish: Hættemåge	Dutch: Kokmeeuw
Estonian: naerukajakas	Finnish: naurulokki	French: Mouette rieuse
German: Lachmöwe	Hungarian: dankasirály	Icelandic: Hettumáfur
Irish: Sléibhín	Italian: Gabbiano comune	Latvian: lielais kiris
Lithuanian: rudagalvis kiras	Norwegian: Hettemåke	Polish: (mewa) smieszka
Portuguese: guincho	Spanish: Gaviota reidora	Swedish: skrattmås
Local British Names: Petch
More bird names from Ethno-ornithology World Atlas

More information

See also

• Wikipedia entry
• Birdlife species page
• Avibase species page
• NBN Atlas species page
• Birds of the World species account (subscription required)
• Search Google Scholar for research papers