Birds & Birding in Costa Rica: – Costa Rica’s national motto and tourism slogan, “La Pura Vida” loosely translates to Live Life or Enjoy Life. With over 900 bird species recorded in Costa Rica, there is certainly lots to enjoy! With 12 of the world’s 18 life zones, its diverse landscapes, including tropical rainforests, cloud forests, mangroves, and savannas, provide habitat for a wide range of iconic birds A Reflections of the Natural World Blog Post Series by Jim Gain
ABOUT THIS SPECIES
LAUGHING GULL – (Species Account Blog #66)
TAXONOMIC TREE:
- ORDER: Charadriiformes,
- FAMILY: Laridae,
- BINOMIAL NAME: Leucophaeus atricilla
Laughing Gull is a slender, medium-sized gull with long wings. Medium-gray upperparts. Breeding plumage shows black head with white eye arcs, small white spots on black wingtips, and deep red bill and legs. Nonbreeding plumage has smudgy gray cheek and dark bill and legs. This small, black-hooded gull nests in colonies of up to 25,000 pairs on sandy or rocky shores and on salt-marsh islands along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of North America, as well as on some Caribbean islands, the Gulf of California, and along the Pacific coast of Mexico. (from Birds of the World)
SIMILAR SPECIES
Unlikely to be confused with any other North American gull except Franklin’s Gull (Leucophaeus pipixcan). General characteristics that distinguish Laughing Gull in all plumages from Franklin’s Gull include larger size and heavier body proportions, with particularly longer head, bill, and legs, and longer, more pointed wings. Laughing Gull bill is longer, thicker, and slightly drooped rather than short and straight.
DISTRIBUTION
PERSONAL OBSERVATION ANECDOTES
In Costa Rica we observed Laughing Gulls all along the coastline near Punta Leona and while on the boat tour at the mouth of the Tárcoles River.
PHOTO GALLERY
**Some of these Photo Gallery images (all taken by me) have been taken in other nearby countries.
RECENT BLOG POSTS
View the five most recent Birds & Birding in Costa Rica series blog posts below.
- A Streak-headed Woodcreeper Feeds its Offspring Near the Arenal Observatory Lodge, Costa Rica
- PALE-BILLED WOODPECKER – Pura Vida Birds and Birding
- SMOKY-BROWN WOODPECKER – Pura Vida Birds and Birding
- HOFFMANN’S WOODPECKER – Pura Vida Birds and Birding
- BLACK-CHEEKED WOODPECKER – Pura Vida Birds and Birding
Reflections of the Natural World 