Caspian Gull

Larus cachinnans Pallas, 1811

Caspian Gull, Larus cachinnans, is a gull of the Palearctic, breeding from inland southern Poland and Hungary east through the Black, Caspian and Aral seas to eastern Kazakhstan. Outside the breeding season it reaches south-eastern Europe, the Black Sea, the eastern Mediterranean, the Persian Gulf and the northern Arabian Sea. It was described by Pallas in 1811. It nests on flat ground close to water, rather than on cliffs where its range overlaps with the yellow-legged gull. The breeding season begins in early April, and the clutch usually contains two or three eggs.

Order

Charadriiformes

Family

Laridae — Gulls, Terns, Skimmers

Breeding range

Palearctic: inland s Poland and Hungary e through Black, Caspian and Aral seas to e Kazakhstan

Nonbreeding range

to se Europe, Black Sea, e Mediterranean, Persian Gulf and n Arabian Sea