Afghanistan (P), Albania (NB), Algeria, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia (B), Aruba, Austria (B) (NB), Azerbaijan (B) (NB), Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus (B) (NB), Belgium (B) (NB), Benin, Bermuda, Bosnia and Herzegovina (B) (NB), Bulgaria (B) (NB), Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Canada (B) (NB), Cape Verde, China (mainland) (NB), Côte dIvoire, Croatia (Local Name: Hrvatska) (B) (NB), Cyprus (NB), Czech Republic (B) (NB), Denmark (B) (NB) (P), Djibouti, Dominica, Egypt, Eritrea, Estonia (B) (NB), Ethiopia, Faroe Islands (B) (NB), Finland (B) (NB) (P), France (B) (NB) (P), French Guiana, Gambia, Georgia (B) (NB), Germany (B) (NB) (P), Ghana, Gibraltar (NB), Greece (B) (NB) (P), Greenland (B) (NB), Guadeloupe, Guam (NB), Guinea-bissau, Hong Kong (China), Hungary (B) (NB) (P), Iceland (B) (NB), India, Indonesia, Iran [Islamic Republic of] (NB), Iraq (NB) (P), Ireland (B) (NB), Israel (NB) (P), Italy (B) (NB), Japan, Jordan (NB) (P), Kazakhstan (B), Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan (B), Laos, Latvia (B) (NB), Lebanon (NB), Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Liechtenstein (B), Lithuania (B) (NB), Luxembourg (NB), Macedonia [The Former Yugoslav Republic of] (B) (NB), Malaysia, Mali, Malta (NB), Martinique, Mauritania, Mexico, Micronesia [Federated States of] (NB), Moldova [Republic of] (B) (NB) (P), Mongolia (B), Montenegro (B) (NB), Montserrat, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands (B) (NB), Netherlands Antilles, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea, Northern Mariana Islands (NB), Norway (B) (P), Oman (NB), Pakistan, Palau (NB), Palestinian Authority Territories (NB) (P), Philippines, Poland (B) (NB) (P), Portugal (B) (NB), Puerto Rico, Qatar, Romania (B) (NB) (P), Russia (Asian) (B), Russia (Central Asian) (B) (P), Russia (European) (B) (P), Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia (B) (NB), Singapore, Slovakia (Slovak Republic) (B) (NB) (P), Slovenia (B) (NB) (P), Somalia, South Korea, Spain (B) (NB) (P), Sri Lanka, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Pierre and Miquelon (NB) (P), St Vincent and The Grenadines, Sudan, Suriname, Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands (B), Sweden (B) (NB) (P), Switzerland (B) (NB), Syrian Arab Republic, Taiwan (China), Tajikistan, Tanzania [United Republic of], Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey (B) (NB), Uganda, Ukraine (B) (NB) (P), United Arab Emirates (NB), United Kingdom (B) (NB), USA (B), Uzbekistan (B), Vietnam, Virgin Islands (U.S.) (NB), Western Sahara, Yemen.
Vagrant to Angola, Australia, Bahamas, Botswana, Brunei Darussalam, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Congo [The Democratic Republic of the], Cuba, Grenada, Guinea, Liberia, Maldives, Papua New Guinea, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Turks and Caicos Islands, Zimbabwe.
Southern Greenland and Iceland through most of Europe and central Asia to Kamchatka, extreme south-eastern Russia (Ussuriland) and north-eastern China (Heilongjiang); marginal in north-eastern North America. Winters south to western and eastern Africa, India, Malaysia and Philippines.
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) [XC826364]
by Paul Kelly from Tacumshin Lake (East End), County Wexford, Ireland (call, flight call)
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) [XC825472]
by Romuald Mikusek from Nadrybie Lake after landslides in the mine called Baltic, Poland (alarm call, call)
Breeding Season (Guide)
Does not breed in Australia. Breeds throughout northern hemisphere.
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Nest
A shallow depression, lined with leaves and feathers, often amongst marshy vegatation or on bare ground.
Eggs (Guide)
2 - 6, usually 3; smooth, variable from light buffish-brown to deep brown to pale bluish-green, heavily spotted and blotched with dark brown; oval. Incubation: about 23 days; by both sexes.
Subspecies
Morphometric analyses link it to various other hooded gulls, with no consistent pattern. Some authors recognize possible subspecies sibiricus (north-eastern Siberia).
No subspecies.
Similar Species
In non-breeding plumage with Laughing Gull (Larus atricilla), which has a black hood that extends further toward the fore-neck, and lacks the fine black leading edge to the outer primaries, and Franklin's Gull (Larus pipixcan), which has a black hood that reaches the fore-neck.
Compare Images
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
More... see more information (images, calls, videos etc)
BirdLife International Species Factsheet