Grey-headed Gull ( Larus cirrocephalus, family: Laridae)

grey headedgull kruger national park birds The Grey-headed Gull (Latin name Larus cirrocephalus) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 315 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 443 also a picture of the Grey-headed Gull on page 416. The Grey-headed Gull belongs to the family of birds classified as Laridae. According to the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology the Grey-headed Gull is also known by these other names: Grey-hooded Gull.

The map of the Kruger you see on this page shows the areas (coloured orange) where this bird has been identified. The basic information was provided by the Avian Demographic Unit based at UCT and I created the maps from that information ... the green dots show the locations of the various Kruger National Park Rest Camps

The Grey-headed Gull is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park. It is however a rare resident

In terms of distribution of the Grey-headed Gull in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Grey-headed Gull : see above distribution map.

Grey Headed Gull Kruger ParkIdentification assistance for this avian species ...

The Grey-headed Gull is a bird about the size of a Francolin now called Spurfowl. The height of the Grey-headed Gull is about 42 cms and its weight is about 280 gms

The male and female Grey-headed Gull have the same plumage and colours

  • Head is grey.
  • Eye is yellow.
  • Bill is red.
  • Throat is grey.
  • Back is grey.
  • Legs are red.

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The Grey-headed Gull feeds on the ground and in or around water mainly

Invertebrates

Aquatic life forms

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The Grey-headed Gull is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Larus cirrocephalus will seek out a new mate

The nesting habit of Grey-headed Gull is to create the nest on the ground. The bird lays eggs which are blue in colour and number between 1 to 3

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for Grey-headed Gull are: wetlands and riverine areas

You will normally see the Grey-headed Gull in flocks.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Unknown

Zulu ... Unknown

Afrikaans ...Gryskopmeeu

German ... Graukopfmwe

Portuguese ... Gaivota-de-cabea-cinzenta

French ... Mouette tte grise

Dutch ... Grijskopmeeuw

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For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...

Robert's 7th edition number ... 315

The main reference source for this data was "Roberts - Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition" . Other references were "Newmans Birds of the Kruger Park" by Keith Newman published circa 1980 . Names in foreign languages were obtained from the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town website , www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za