Grey-headed Gull

Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus (Vieillot, 1818)

Grey-headed Gull, Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus, breeds in South America and Africa, with coastal and inland populations south of the Sahara, as well as in Madagascar, coastal Ecuador and Peru, and from southern Uruguay and north-eastern Argentina to Santa Fe in north-central Argentina. It is a gull of reedbeds, marshes, coasts and estuaries, and it forms large breeding colonies. The species is also known for its pale grey head in summer, which is lost in winter, leaving dark marks around the eye. It has a red bill and legs, and the wing tips show white mirrors.

Order

Charadriiformes

Family

Laridae — Gulls, Terns, Skimmers

Breeding range

South America, Africa: coastal and inland Africa s of the Sahara and Madagascar; coastal Ecuador and Peru; s Uruguay and ne Argentina to Santa Fe (nc Argentina)