Caspian gull

Caspian gull
	Adult in summer plumage, Romania
Conservation status
	; Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Charadriiformes
Family:	Laridae
Genus:	Larus
Species:	L. cachinnans
Binomial name
	Larus cachinnans; Pallas, 1811
	Range of L. cachinnans Breeding Resident Non-breeding

The Caspian gull (Larus cachinnans) is a large gull and a member of the herring and lesser black-backed gull complex. The scientific name is from Latin. Larus appears to have referred to a gull or other large seabird, and cachinnans means 'laughing', from cachinnare 'to laugh'.^[2]

Description

It is a large gull at 56–68 cm (22–27 in) long, with a 137 to 155 cm (54 to 61 in) wingspan and a body mass of 680–1,590 g (1.50–3.51 lb).^[3]^[4] Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 38.5 to 48 cm (15.2 to 18.9 in), the bill is 4.6 to 6.4 cm (1.8 to 2.5 in) and the tarsus is 5.8 to 7.7 cm (2.3 to 3.0 in).^[4] The Caspian gull has a long, slender bill, accentuated by the sloping forehead. The legs, wings, and neck are longer than those of the herring gull and yellow-legged gull. The eye is small and often dark, and the legs vary from pale pink to a pale yellowish colour. The back and wings are a slightly darker shade of grey than the herring gull, but slightly paler than the yellow-legged gull. The outermost primary feather has a large white tip and a white tongue running up the inner web.

First-winter birds have a pale head with dark streaking on the back of the neck. The underparts are pale and the back is greyish. The greater and median wing coverts have whitish tips forming two pale lines across the wing.

Distribution

The Caspian gull breeds around the Black and Caspian Seas, extending eastwards across Central Asia to north-west China. In Europe, it has been spreading north and west and now breeds in Poland, eastern Germany, southern Russia and all year round in Ukraine. Some birds migrate south as far as the Red Sea and Persian Gulf, while others disperse into Western Europe, in countries such as Sweden, Norway and Denmark or the Benelux and even North of France. Small numbers are now seen regularly in Britain, especially in South-east England, East Anglia, and the Midlands.

Breeding

It typically nests on flat, low-lying ground by water, unlike the yellow-legged gull, which mainly nests on cliffs in areas where the two overlap. The breeding season starts from early April. Two or three eggs are laid and incubated for 27 to 31 days.

Feeding

They are scavengers and predators with a very varied diet. During the breeding season, they often eat rodents such as ground squirrels, flying some distance into the steppes to find them.

Classification and subspecies

This form has a troubled taxonomic history, summarised in the herring gull article. The Caspian gull used to be treated as a subspecies of the herring gull, but it is now treated as a full species by many authorities (e.g. the British Ornithologists' Union records committee). Some authorities include the yellow-legged gull (L. michahellis) within L. cachinnans, but it is also now commonly considered to be a separate species.

The steppe gull or Baraba gull (L. (cachinnans) barabensis) may be regarded as a subspecies of the Caspian gull or as a separate species. It is also very similar genetically to its northern neighbour, the taimyrensis race of Heuglin's gull. The steppe gull breeds in Central Asia, particularly northern Kazakhstan. Its nonbreeding range is still little-known, but most are thought to winter in southwestern Asia from the Persian Gulf to northwestern India. There are possible records of this form from Hong Kong and South Korea.

The Mongolian gull (L. (vegae/cachinnans) mongolicus) may be classed as a subspecies of the Caspian gull, a subspecies of the Vega gull, or as a species in its own right. It breeds in Mongolia and the surrounding areas and migrates southeast in winter.

In Danube Biosphere Reserve
juvenile
juvenile in flight
immature in flight

References

^ BirdLife International (2018). "Larus cachinnans". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T22735929A132665415. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22735929A132665415.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
^ Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. pp. 82, 219. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
^ Dunning, John B. Jr., ed. (1992). CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses. CRC Press. ISBN 978-0-8493-4258-5.
^ ^a ^b Olsen, Klaus Malling; Larsson, Hans (2004). Gulls of North America, Europe, and Asia. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0691119977.

External links

Caspian Gull photos, Rudy's Gull-index
Gulls in Poland incl. Caspian gull and hybrids
Caspian Gulls in Amsterdam
Identification of Caspian Gull, Berkshire Birds
Steppe gull barabensis in South Korea, Birds Korea
Pictures of Caspian gulls from all ages Archived 2022-05-21 at the Wayback Machine included some hybrids and ringed Caspian gulls
BirdLife species factsheet for Larus cachinnans
"Larus cachinnans". Avibase.
Interactive range map of Larus cachinnans at IUCN Red List maps
Audio recordings of Caspian gull on Xeno-canto.
Larus cachinnans in Field Guide: Birds of the World on Flickr
caspian-gull/larus-cachinnans Caspian gull media from ARKive

[iucn_status_18_November_2021-1] BirdLife International (2018). "Larus cachinnans". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T22735929A132665415. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22735929A132665415.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.

[job-2] Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. pp. 82, 219. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.

[CRC-3] Dunning, John B. Jr., ed. (1992). CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses. CRC Press. ISBN 978-0-8493-4258-5.

[Olsen-4] Olsen, Klaus Malling; Larsson, Hans (2004). Gulls of North America, Europe, and Asia. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0691119977.

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v t e Gulls (family: Laridae)
Genus	Species († indicates a species confirmed to be extinct)
Larus	Pacific gull Belcher's gull Olrog's gull Black-tailed gull Heermann's gull Common gull Short-billed gull Ring-billed gull California gull Great black-backed gull Kelp gull (or Cape gull) Glaucous-winged gull Western gull Yellow-footed gull Glaucous gull Iceland gull Thayer's gull European herring gull American herring gull Yellow-legged gull Caspian gull Vega gull (or East Siberian gull / Mongolian gull) Armenian gull Slaty-backed gull Lesser black-backed gull Heuglin's gull
Ichthyaetus	White-eyed gull Sooty gull Great black-headed gull (or Pallas's gull) Audouin's gull Mediterranean gull Relict gull
Leucophaeus	Dolphin gull Laughing gull Franklin's gull Lava gull Grey gull
Chroicocephalus	Silver gull Red-billed gull Huahine gull † Hartlaub's gull Brown-hooded gull Grey-headed gull (or grey-hooded gull) Andean gull Black-billed gull Brown-headed gull Black-headed gull Slender-billed gull Bonaparte's gull Saunders's gull
Hydrocoloeus	Little gull
Rhodostethia	Ross's gull
Rissa	Black-legged kittiwake Red-legged kittiwake
Pagophila	Ivory gull
Xema	Sabine's gull
Creagrus	Swallow-tailed gull
Gull eggs as food Hybridisation in gulls