The Slender-billed Gull (Chroicocephalus genei) is a mid-sized gull which breeds very locally around the Mediterranean and the north of the western Indian Ocean (e.g. Pakistan) on islands and coastal lagoons. Most of the population is somewhat migratory, wintering further south to north Africa and India, and a few birds have wandered to western Europe.
A vagrant individual was reportedly seen on Antigua, April 24, 1976 (AOU, 2000).
The genus name Chroicocephalus is from Ancient Greek khroizo, "to colour", and kephale, "head". The specific genei commemorates Italian naturalist Giuseppe Gené.
Distribution and habitat
The slender-billed gull breeds in lagoons and lakes around the Mediterranean Sea and in similar locations in countries bordering the northwestern part of the Indian Ocean. In 2010 a successful colony was found breeding on an island in a mountain lake in Algeria. The lack of predators and disturbance allowed over 98% of the eggs to hatch.
It overwinters on the coast in estuaries and bays. It feeds in deltas, marshes and grassland. It is one of a number of species of gull to feed on landfill sites.
Range map from www.oiseaux.net - Ornithological Portal Oiseaux.net
www.oiseaux.net
is one of those MUST visit pages if you're in to bird watching. You can find just about everything there
Description
This species is 37 to 40 cm long with a 90 to 102 cm wingspan. It is therefore slightly larger than the Black-headed Gull, which it resembles, although it does not have a black hood in summer. It has a pale grey body, white head and breast and black tips to the primary wing feathers.
The head and dark red bill have an elongated tapering appearance, and this bird also appears long-necked. The legs are dark red, and the iris is yellow. In summer, the breast has a faint pink colouration and the bill is dark red in summer, and mid-red in winter.
Faint pink coloured Slender-billed Gull
Cyprus - March 2021
Slender-billed Gull with red bill
Cyprus - March 2021
This bird takes two years to reach maturity, as is usual in gulls. First year immature birds have a black terminal tail band, and dark areas on the wings.
| Length: 44 cm |
|---|
| Wingspan: 102 to 110 cm. |
| Weight: 250 to 350 g |
| Longevity: 23 years |
| Similar Species
• Black-headed Gull is only slightly smaller, and shares the same wing pattern; it differs in having a brown hood in summer, and retaining a prominent dark smudge on the ear coverts in winter (young and some adult winter Slender-billed Gulls may show a faint dark smudge, but never a strong one). It is also more compact in shape, without the elongated bill, head and neck profile, and has a dark brown iris. First-winter Black-headed Gulls have a similar wing pattern, but the brown mottling is darker and more obvious. From opus at www.birdforum.net the forum for wild birds and birding. |
| Female / Male / Juvenile
• First-winter birds have a black terminal tail band, and mottled brown areas in the wings; the bill and legs are yellowish at first, darkening to orange-red by the following spring. From opus at www.birdforum.net the forum for wild birds and birding. |
Listen to the Slender-billed Gull
Sound from www.xeno-canto.org
Sound from www.xeno-canto.org
Behaviour
About half of the slender-billed gull's food is fish. It flies a few metres above the surface of the water and dives into the water when it sees suitable prey. It also probes in the mud with its beak to feed on marine invertebrates and catches insects in flight.
This rather uncommon gull breeds in colonies, nesting on the ground and laying up to three brown-spotted white eggs in a scrape sparsely lined with feathers and bits of vegetation. Incubation takes about 25 days and the young fly after another 25 days. Like most gulls, it is gregarious in winter, both when feeding and in evening roosts.
It is not a pelagic species, and is rarely seen far from land.
Egg, Collection Museum Wiesbaden
By Klaus Rassinger und Gerhard Cammerer, Museum Wiesbaden
Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37098556
Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37098556
Status
The slender-billed gull is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.
AEWA
The Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds, or African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) is an independent international treaty developed under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme's Convention on Migratory Species.
It was founded to coordinate efforts to conserve bird species migrating between European and African nations, and its current scope stretches from the Arctic to South Africa, encompassing the Canadian archipelago and the Middle East as well as Europe and Africa.
The agreement focuses on bird species that depend on wetlands for at least part of their lifecycle and cross international borders in their migration patterns. It currently covers 254 species.
Treaties
Ban on lead shot
The use of lead shot over wetlands has been banned by the signatories to the convention on account of the poisoning it causes.
Conservation status
The slender-billed gull is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sighted: (Date of first photo that I could use) 13 March 2021
Location: eBird hotspot: Meneou (Μενεού) Pools, Cyprus
Slender-billed Gull
11 March 2021 - eBird hotspot: Meneou (Μενεού) Pools, Cyprus
11 March 2021 - eBird hotspot: Meneou (Μενεού) Pools, Cyprus
Slender-billed Gull
13 March 2021 - eBird hotspot: Hala Sultan Tekke Mosque, Cyprus
13 March 2021 - eBird hotspot: Hala Sultan Tekke Mosque, Cyprus
Slender-billed Gull
13 March 2021 - eBird hotspot: Hala Sultan Tekke Mosque, Cyprus
13 March 2021 - eBird hotspot: Hala Sultan Tekke Mosque, Cyprus
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