Belcher's Gull

Larus belcheri Vigors, 1829

Belcher's Gull, Larus belcheri, is a gull of the west coast and nearby islets of South America, breeding from northern Peru to northern Chile. Some birds move north to the coasts of northern Ecuador and south to central Chile outside the breeding season. It is in the family Laridae and was described by Vigors in 1829. The species is marked by a black band across an otherwise white tail, and adults outside the breeding season have a brownish-black head with a white eye-ring.

Order

Charadriiformes

Family

Laridae — Gulls, Terns, Skimmers

Breeding range

South America: w coast and islets of South America from n Peru to n Chile

Nonbreeding range

some move to coasts of n Ecuador and c Chile