Mediterranean Gull

Ichthyaetus melanocephalus (Temminck, 1820)

Mediterranean Gull, Ichthyaetus melanocephalus, breeds in inland southern Britain and eastern Spain, extending east to south-west Russia, Ukraine and Azerbaijan. Outside the breeding season it is found along the coasts of the eastern North Atlantic from southern Ireland and Britain to the Canary Islands, and across the western and central African coast, as well as around the Black Sea and throughout the Mediterranean and linked seas. It is a gull in the family Laridae, placed in the order Charadriiformes, and was described by Temminck in 1820.

Order

Charadriiformes

Family

Laridae — Gulls, Terns, Skimmers

Breeding range

Palearctic: inland s Britain and e Spain to sw Russia, Ukraine and Azerbaijan

Nonbreeding range

coasts of e North Atlantic from s Ireland and Britain to Canary Is. (Macaronesia, w of nw Africa) and wc Africa; Black Sea, and throughout Mediterranean and associated seas