Mediterranean Gull
A species of Large black-headed gulls Scientific name : Ichthyaetus melanocephalus Genus : Large black-headed gulls
Mediterranean Gull, A species of Large black-headed gulls
Botanical name: Ichthyaetus melanocephalus
Genus: Large black-headed gulls
Content
Description General Info
Photo By Sipike , used under CC-BY-SA-3.0 /Cropped and compressed from original 
Description
The Mediterranean gull is slightly larger and bulkier than the black-headed gull with a heavier bill and longer, darker legs. The breeding plumage adult is a distinctive white gull, with a very pale grey mantle and wings with white primary feathers without black tips. The black hood extends down the nape and shows distinct white eye crescents. The blunt tipped, parallel sided, dark red bill has a black subterminal band. The non breeding adult is similar but the hood is reduced to an extensive dusky "bandit" mask through the eye. This bird takes two years to reach maturity. First year birds have a black terminal tail band and more black areas in the upperwings, but have pale underwings. 
Size
38 cm
Colors
Black
Gray
White
Life Expectancy
15 years
Feeding Habits
Mediterranean Gull is an opportunistic omnivore, consuming a diet of fish, worms, insects, and various scraps. This gull forages by scavenging offal and carrion and showcases flexible feeding behaviors to exploit diverse food sources.
Habitat
Mediterranean Gull typically inhabits coastal regions and is found in a range of environments including coasts, estuaries, harbours, and coastal lagoons. They breed in large reed beds, marshes, and on lake islands, often within colonies of their own species or mixed with black-headed gulls. Mediterranean Gull is also present in inland habitats such as lakes, fields, grasslands, and steppe lakes, demonstrating a preference for open lowland areas with sparse vegetation. This species shows notable adaptability, occupying and breeding in diverse habitats, sometimes extending to coastal salt-marshes, especially in Northwestern Europe.
Dite type
Piscivorous
General Info
Distribution Area
Formerly restricted to the Black Sea and the eastern Mediterranean this species has now expanded over most of Europe as far as Great Britain and Ireland, with 37 sites: 543–592 pairs in the United Kingdom in 2008. In Ireland breeding has been recorded in at least four counties. Breeding has also occurred in Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Estonia, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and the Balkans. In winter, this bird migrates to Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts.
Species Status
The Mediterranean gull is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.
Scientific Classification
Phylum
Chordates Class
Birds Order
Shorebirds Family
Gulls Genus
Large black-headed gulls Species
Mediterranean Gull 
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