Black-headed Gull
Chroicocephalus ridibundus
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderCharadriiformes (Shorebirds and Allies)
- FamilyLaridae (Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers)
- GenusChroicocephalus (Masked Gulls and allies)
- SpeciesChroicocephalus ridibundus (Black-headed Gull)
About the Black-headed Gull
The black-headed gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) is a small gull that breeds in much of the Palearctic in Europe and Asia, and also locally in smaller numbers in coastal eastern Canada. Most of the population is migratory and winters further south, but many also remain in the milder areas of northwestern Europe. It was formerly sometimes cited as "common black-headed gull" to distinguish it from "great black-headed gull" (an old name for Pallas's gull).
The genus name Chroicocephalus is from the Ancient Greek words khroizo, "to colour", and kephale, "head". The specific name ridibundus is Latin for "laughing". The black-headed gull was formally described in 1766 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the twelfth edition of his Systema Naturae. He placed it with the other gulls in the genus Larus and coined the binomial name Larus ridibundus. Linnaeus specified the locality as Mari Europaeo or European seas.
Genetic studies published early in the 21st century showed that the genus Larus was paraphyletic with respect to other gull genera, and extensive changes to the taxonomy of gulls were made with many species of gull removed from Larus and transferred to other... Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Camargue
Slender-billed Gull
Chroicocephalus genei
Yellow-legged Gull
Larus michahellis
Gull-billed Tern
Gelochelidon nilotica
Mediterranean Gull
Ichthyaetus melanocephalus
Caspian Tern
Hydroprogne caspia
Little Tern
Sternula albifrons
Common Tern
Sterna hirundo
Black-legged Kittiwake
Rissa tridactyla
Sandwich Tern
Thalasseus sandvicensis
Sabine's Gull
Xema sabini
Whiskered Tern
Chlidonias hybrida
Black Tern
Chlidonias niger
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Black-headed Gull in Camargue?
About 70% of wildlife watchers report a Black-headed Gull sighting in Camargue, based on 857 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Black-headed Gull in Camargue?
September has the highest sighting rate for Black-headed Gull in Camargue in our monthly data.