Editing Laughing gull

{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Leucophaeus atricilla Caye Caulker 04.JPG
| image_caption = 
| image2 = Larus atricilla.ogg
| image2_caption = Call
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref>{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International. |year=2018 |title=''Larus atricilla'' |volume=2018 |page=e.T22694455A132552784 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22694455A132552784.en |access-date=10 March 2025}}</ref>
| genus = Leucophaeus
| species = atricilla
| authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]])
| synonyms = ''Larus atricilla'' {{small|Linnaeus,&nbsp;1758}}
| range_map = Leucophaeus atricilla map.svg
| range_map_caption = geographical range
{{leftlegend|#FF7F2A|&nbsp;breeding|outline=gray}}{{leftlegend|#7137C8|&nbsp;year-round|outline=gray}}{{leftlegend|#5F8DD3|&nbsp;nonbreeding|outline=gray}}
}}

The '''laughing seagull''' ('''''Leucophaeus atricilla''''') is a medium-sized [[gull]] of [[North America|North]] and [[South America]]. Named for its laugh-like call, it is an opportunistic [[omnivore]] and [[scavenger]]. It breeds in large colonies mostly along the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] coast of North America, the [[Caribbean]], and northern South America. The two [[subspecies]] are ''L. a. megalopterus'' — which can be seen from southeast Canada down to [[Central America]] — and ''L. a. atricilla'', which appears from the [[West Indies]] to the [[Venezuela]]n islands. The laughing seagull was long placed in the genus ''[[Larus]]'' until its present placement in ''Leucophaeus''.

==Taxonomy==
The laughing seagull was [[Species description|formally described]] in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist [[Carl Linnaeus]] in the [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|tenth edition]] of his ''[[Systema Naturae]]'' under the [[binomial nomenclature|binomial name]] ''Larus atricilla''.<ref>{{cite book | last=Linnaeus | first=Carl | author-link=Carl Linnaeus | year=1758 | title= Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis | volume=1 | edition=10th | page=136 | publisher=Laurentii Salvii | location=Holmiae (Stockholm) | language=Latin | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/727041 }}</ref> Linnaeus based his account on the "laughing gull" from [[the Bahamas]] that had been described and illustrated in 1729–1732 by the English naturalist [[Mark Catesby]] in his ''The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands''. The laughing gull is now one of five New World gulls placed in the [[genus]] ''[[Leucophaeus]]'' that was introduced in 1855 by the German ornithologist [[Carl Friedrich Bruch]].<ref name=ioc>{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela C. Rasmussen | date=December 2023 | title=Noddies, gulls, terns, skimmers, skuas, auks | work=IOC World Bird List Version 14.1 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/gulls/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=19 July 2024 }}</ref> The genus name ''Leucophaeus'' is from [[Ancient Greek]] ''leukos'' meaning "white" and ''phaios'' meaning "dusky". The specific epithet ''atricilla'' combines [[Latin]] ''ater'' meaning "black" with [[Modern Latin]] ''cilla'' meaning "tail". It is possible that Linnaeus intended to write ''atricapilla'' meaning "black-headed".<ref>{{cite book | last=Jobling | first=James A. | year=2010| title=The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | publisher=Christopher Helm | location=London | isbn=978-1-4081-2501-4 | pages=[https://archive.org/stream/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling#page/n224/mode/1up 224], [https://archive.org/stream/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling#page/n59/mode/1up 59]}}</ref>

Like most other members of the genus ''[[Leucophaeus]]'', the laughing gull was long placed in the genus ''[[Larus]]''. It was moved to the resurrected genus ''Leucophaeus'' based on a 2005 [[molecular phylogenetic]] study that found that inclusion in ''Larus'' made that genus [[paraphyletic]].<ref>{{Cite journal | last1=Pons | first1=J.-M. | last2=Hassanin | first2=A. | last3=Crochet | first3=P.-A. | date=2005 | title=Phylogenetic relationships within the Laridae (Charadriiformes: Aves) inferred from mitochondrial markers | journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution | volume=37 | issue=3 | pages=686–699 | doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2005.05.011| pmid=16054399 | bibcode=2005MolPE..37..686P }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | last1=Banks | first1=R.C. | last2=Chesser | first2=R.T. | last3=Cicero | first3=C. | last4=Dunn | first4=J.L. | last5=Kratter | first5=A.W. | last6=Lovette | first6=I.J. | last7=Rasmussen | first7=P.C. | last8=Remsen | first8=J.V. | last9=Rising | first9=J.D. | last10=Stotz | first10=D.F. | last11=Winker | first11=K. | date=2008 | title=Forty-Ninth Supplement to the American Ornithologists' Union Check-List of North American Birds | journal=The Auk | volume=125 | issue=3 | pages=758–768 | doi=10.1525/auk.2008.9708 | doi-access=free| bibcode=2008Auk...125..756B }}</ref>

Two [[subspecies]] are recognised. They are listed below with their breeding ranges.<ref name=ioc/>
{| class="wikitable "
|-
! Image !! Subspecies !! Distribution
|-
|[[File:Assateague laughing gull MD1.jpg|120px]]|| ''L. a. megalopterus'' ([[Carl Friedrich Bruch|Bruch]], 1855) || islands off west North Atlantic coast of southeast Canada (sporadic or formerly), Maine to Florida, Gulf of Mexico to south Texas, [[Salton Sea]] (southeast California; formerly), [[Gulf of California]] to [[Colima]]
|-
|[[File:Leucophaeus atricilla Caye Caulker 04.JPG|120px]]|| ''L. a. atricilla'' ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1758) || West Indies, islands off [[Yucatán Peninsula]], islands north of Venezuela, Trinidad and [[Tobago]] and to [[French Guiana]]
|-
|}

==Description==
This species is {{convert|36|–|41|cm|in|abbr=on}} long with a {{convert|98|–|110|cm|in|abbr=on}} wingspan and a weight range<ref>{{Cite web |title= Laughing Gull Identification, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology |url= https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Laughing_Gull/id|access-date=2020-09-25|website=www.allaboutbirds.org|language=en}}</ref> of {{convert|203|–|371|g|oz}}. The summer adult's body is white apart from the dark grey back and wings and black head. Its wings are much darker grey than all other gulls of similar size except the smaller [[Franklin's gull]], and they have black tips without the white crescent shown by Franklin's. The [[beak]] is long and red. The black hood is mostly lost in winter.

Laughing gulls take three years to reach adult plumage. Immature birds are always darker than most similar-sized gulls other than Franklin's. First-year birds are greyer below and have paler heads than first-year Franklin's, and second-years can be distinguished by the wing pattern and structure.

==Distribution and habitat==
It breeds on the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] coast of North America, the [[Caribbean]], and northern South America. Northernmost populations [[bird migration|migrate]] farther south in winter, and this species occurs as a rare [[Vagrancy (biology)|vagrant]] to [[western Europe]]. The laughing seagull's English name is derived from its raucous ''kee-agh'' call, which sounds like a high-pitched laugh "ha... ha... ha...".<ref name=bow/>

==Behaviour==
===Breeding===
Laughing seagulls nest from mid to late May in the north of their range and from late April in the south. They nest in colonies which vary in size from a few pairs to 25,000. The nest site is usually on low lying coastal islands. The nest is built by both sexes from available vegetation. The clutch is usually three eggs which are incubated by both parents for 22-27 days. The chicks normally remain near to the nest for the first 5 days. They are fed and brooded by both parents. The young can fly when they are around 40 days old.<ref name=bow>{{cite journal | last=Burger | first=Joanna | date=2020 | title=Laughing seagull (''Leucophaeus atricilla''), version 1.0 | editor-last=Rodewald | editor-first=P.G. | journal=Birds of the World | location=Ithaca, NY, USA | publisher=Cornell Lab of Ornithology | doi=10.2173/bow.laugul.01 | url=https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.laugul.01  | access-date=20 July 2024 | url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Larus atricilla MWNH 0343.JPG|Egg, Collection [[Museum Wiesbaden]]
Laughing Gull - mating plumage.jpg|Mating plumage includes black head and red bill
Larus atricilla1.jpg|Definitive alternate plumage
Flying Laughing Gull.jpg|Adult in mid-May (definitive alternate plumage)
Laughing-gull.jpg|Laughing gull, alternate plumage, North Carolina, US, 2016
Laughing Gulls on sand.jpg|Adult in winter (definitive basic plumage)
Laughing Gull juvenile.jpg|Juvenile
Laughing gull St Thomas.JPG|Adult at St. Thomas, Virgin Islands (definitive alternate plumage)
Laughing gull Porthmadog.jpg|Vagrant in definitive basic plumage in the UK in late 2005
Guanaguanre (Larus atricilla) de los Roques Venezuela 000.jpg|At Los Roques, Venezuela
Laughing gull (02914).jpg|First winter laughing gull in [[Riverhead, New York]]
Caneel Bay Seagulls By Caneel Beach 09, crop.jpg|Adult in breeding plumage, American Virgin Islands
Caneel Bay Seagulls By Caneel Beach 18, crop.jpg|Adult in breeding plumage, American Virgin Islands
Caneel Bay Seagulls By Caneel Beach 15, crop.jpg|Preparing to land on beach, American Virgin Islands
Trim.F419E503-74D1-4BE4-90FA-31A0C888E761.webm|Laughing gulls following a shrimp boat off the coast of [[Jacksonville, Florida]]
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Leucophaeus atricilla|Laughing gull}}
{{Wikispecies|Leucophaeus atricilla}}
* [http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i0580id.html Laughing Gull - ''Larus atricilla''] - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
* [http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Laughing_Gull.html Laughing Gull Species Account] - Cornell Lab of Ornithology
* [https://www.flickr.com/groups/birdguide/pool/tags/Larus%20atricilla Field Guide on Flickr]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061201113702/http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/wwwsounds/birds/hardy18sh.wav Laughing Gull Bird Sound] at Florida Museum of Natural History
* {{InternetBirdCollection|laughing-gull-larus-atricilla|Laughing Gull}}
* {{VIREO|Laughing+Gull|Laughing Gull}}
* {{IUCN_Map|22694455|Leucophaeus atricilla}}

{{Gulls}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q528764}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Leucophaeus|laughing gull]]
[[Category:Native birds of the Northeastern United States]]
[[Category:Native birds of the Eastern United States]]
[[Category:Native birds of the Southeastern United States]]
[[Category:Birds of Central America]]
[[Category:Birds of the Caribbean]]
[[Category:Birds of the Dominican Republic]]
[[Category:Birds of Venezuela]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1758|laughing gull]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus|laughing gull]]
[[Category:Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN]] <!-- Leucophaeus atricilla -->