Franklin's Gull

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Franklin's Gull

Conservation status

Least Concern

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Charadriiformes
Family:	Laridae
Genus:	Larus
Species:	L. pipixcan

Binomial name

Larus pipixcan
Wagler, 1831

The Franklin's Gull (Larus pipixcan) is a small gull. It breeds in central provinces of Canada and adjacent states of the northern USA. It is migratory, wintering in the Caribbean, Peru and Chile.

This species is easy to identify. The summer adult's body is white and its back and wings are much darker grey than all other gulls of similar size except the larger Laughing Gull. The wings have black tips with an adjacent white band. The bill and legs are red. The black hood of the breeding adult is mostly lost in winter.

Young birds are similar to the adult but have less developed hoods and lack the white wing band. They take three years to reach maturity.

Franklin's Gulls breed in colonies near prairie lakes. The nest is constructed on the ground, or sometimes floating. The 2 or 3 eggs are incubated for about three weeks.

These are omnivores like most Larus gulls, and they will scavenge as well as seeking suitable small prey.

This bird was named after the Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin.

Although Franklin's Gull is uncommon on the coasts of North America, it occurs as a rare vagrant to northwest Europe, south and west Africa, Australia and Japan, with a single record from Eilat, Israel in 2002 (Smith 2002).

[edit] References

BirdLife International (2004). Larus pipixcan. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern

Smith, James (2002) A Franklin's Gull at Eilat - new to Israel and the Middle East Birding World Vol 16. No. 7 p. 281 (illustrated with a colour photograph of the bird alongside two Slender-billed Gulls)