Grey-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus) | Photos, Calls and ID

LCLeast ConcernFish

Wetland375 g

Grey-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus), photo 4 — Photo: Shaun Swanepoel · CC BY 4.0

Grey-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus), photo 5 — Photo: Ruth Gutiérrez Oliveros · CC0

Grey-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus), photo 6 — Photo: Ruth Gutiérrez Oliveros · CC0

Grey-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus), photo 7 — Photo: Henry de Lange · CC BY 4.0

What the Grey-headed Gull sounds like

Sonogram of the Grey-headed Gull: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.

Recorded by Kileo Jumah · Begging call, call · Ngorongoro Conservation Area (crater floor), Arusha, Tanzania · CC0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

The grey-headed gull is slightly larger than the black-headed gull at 42 cm length. The summer adult has a pale grey head, a grey body, slightly darker in tone than in black-headed gull, and red bill and legs. The black tips to the primary wing feathers have conspicuous white "mirrors". The underwing is dark grey with black wingtips. The grey hood is lost in winter, leaving just two dark smudges around and behind the eye. The eye is dark in immatures, but has a white iris in adults. The sexes are similar.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Grey-headed Gull

One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is October, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Grey-headed Gull

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 36 countries with regular records, and 8 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

Recorded as a rare visitor in United States, Costa Rica, Colombia, United Kingdom, Morocco, Niger, Mayotte, Réunion.

About the Grey-headed Gull

The grey-headed gull, also known as the grey-hooded gull, is a small species of gull which breeds patchily in South America and Africa south of the Sahara. It is not truly migratory, but is dispersive, becoming more widespread in winter. This species has occurred as a rare vagrant to the United States, Italy, and Spain. As is the case with many gulls, it had traditionally been placed in the genus Larus. Recent evidence suggests the South American and African populations may represent two separate cryptic species.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Slender-billed GullChroicocephalus geneiThis species is 37 to 40 cm (14.6 to 15.7 in) long with a 90 to 102 cm (35.4 to 40.2 in) wingspan.

Brown-hooded GullChroicocephalus maculipennisAdults in the breeding season have a dark brown head and throat with a white semicircle around the posterior of the eye, while the neck, chest and abdomen are white.

Hartlaub's GullChroicocephalus hartlaubiiHartlaub's gull is 37–39 cm in length, with a wingspan of 89–92 cm and a weight of 235–340 g.

Side by side: Brown-hooded Gull vs Grey-headed Gull · Grey-headed Gull vs Slender-billed Gull · Grey-headed Gull vs Sabine's Gull · Grey-headed Gull vs Hartlaub's Gull

Learn the Grey-headed Gull in the BeakBrain App

Photo and call practice. Coming soon to iPhone and Android.

Play today's Daily Bird

Every photo and recording on this page is credited to its author under the licence shown. Spotted a problem with this page, or have a better photo? Contribute.