Laughing Gull At Captree State Park

by John Telfer

Title

Laughing Gull At Captree State Park

Artist

John Telfer

Medium

Photograph - Photograph

Description

FAA WATERCOLOR MARK DOES NOT APPEAR ON FINAL SALES
While at Captree State Park located in Wantagh, New York on the south shore of Long Island on this hot summer day in July. I noticed a tremendous amout of Laughing Gulls that were flying around and then landing and standing still for a while on the boat pilings in the boat basin. I saw this one particular Laughing Gull who was finishing eating something and he was standing on the piling with those thin legs and heavy body and I had my zoom lens on and shudder speed set in case he decided to take off. But he did not and I got a couple of really nice close up photos of this Laughing Gull as he gave me his profile angle to shoot and the colors and the detail came out perfect. he Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla) is a medium-sized gull of North and South America. It breeds on the Atlantic coast of North America, the Caribbean, and northern South America. Northernmost populations migrate further south in winter, and this species occurs as a rare vagrant to western Europe. (There was an influx into North-west Europe in late October 2005 when at least 18, possibly as many as 35, individuals occurred on one day in the UK alone.) The Laughing Gull's English name is derived from its raucous kee-agh call, which sounds like a high-pitched laugh "ha... ha... ha...".

Laughing Gull
MENU0:00
Chatham, Massachusetts, April 2002. By Tony Phillips.
Problems listening to this file? See media help.
This species is easy to identify. It is 36�41 cm (14�16 in) long with a 98�110 cm (39�43 in) wingspan. The summer adult's body is white apart from the dark grey back and wings and black head. Its wings are much darker grey than all other gulls of similar size except the smaller Franklin's Gull, and they have black tips without the white crescent shown by Franklin's. The beak is long and red. The black hood is mostly lost in winter.
Laughing Gulls take three years to reach adult plumage. Immature birds are always darker than most similar-sized gulls other than Franklin's. First-year birds are greyer below and have paler heads than first-year Franklin's, and second-years can be distinguished by the wing pattern and structure.
Laughing Gulls breed in coastal marshes and ponds in large colonies. The large nest, made largely from grasses, is constructed on the ground. The 3 or 4 greenish eggs are incubated for about three weeks. These are omnivores like most gulls, and they will scavenge as well as seeking suitable small prey.
Like most other members of the genus Leucophaeus, the Laughing Gull was long placed in the genus Larus. The present placement in Leucophaeus follows the American Ornithologists' Union.
Featured 8/27/12 Group of Photographers From Around The World
Featured 8/27/12 Collectors Treasures
Featured 4/19/18 FAA Portraits - Birds
Featured 3/1/20 The Road To Self Promotion
Featured 5/3/20 FAA Portraits
Featured 12/15/20 100 Favorite
Featured 12/15/20 Wisconsin Flowers and Scenery
Featured 12/19/20 Images That Excite You
Featured 12/23/20 10 Plus
Featured 12/23/20 Your Very Best Photography
Featured 12/30/20 Covid - 19 Mask Group
Featured 1/2/21 Praising God
Featured 2/17/21 1000 Views

Uploaded

July 1st, 2012

Colors

Embed

Share

Tags