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Laughing Gull Larus atricilla
IUCN Red List history
| Year | Category |
|---|---|
| 2012 | Least Concern |
| 2009 | Least Concern |
| 2008 | Least Concern |
| 2004 | Least Concern |
| 2000 | Lower Risk/Least Concern |
| 1994 | Lower Risk/Least Concern |
| 1988 | Lower Risk/Least Concern |
Species attributes
| Migratory status | full migrant | Forest dependency | Does not normally occur in forest |
| Land mass type | Average mass | - |
Distribution
| Estimate | Data quality | |
|---|---|---|
| Extent of Occurrence breeding/resident (km2) | 1,030,000 | medium |
| Extent of Occurrence non-breeding (km2) | 3,380,000 | medium |
| Number of locations | - | |
| Fragmentation | - |
Population & trend
| Estimate | Data quality | Derivation | Year of estimate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of mature individuals | poor | Estimated | 2009 | |
| Population trend | Increasing | - | ||
| Number of subpopulations | - | - | - | |
| Largest subpopulation | - | - | - | |
| Generation length (yrs) | 11.3 | - | - | - |
| Trend justification: The overall population trend is increasing, although some populations have unknown trends (Wetlands International 2006). This species has undergone a large and statistically significant increase over the last 40 years in North America (344% increase over 40 years, equating to a 45.2% increase per decade; data from Breeding Bird Survey and/or Christmas Bird Count: Butcher and Niven 2007). | ||||
Country/Territory distribution
| Country/Territory | Occurrence status | Extinct | Breeding | Non-breeding | Passage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anguilla (to UK) | Native | No | |||
| Antigua and Barbuda | Native | No | |||
| Aruba (to Netherlands) | Native | No | |||
| Australia | Vagrant | No | |||
| Austria | Vagrant | No | |||
| Bahamas | Native | No | |||
| Barbados | Native | No | |||
| Belize | Native | No | |||
| Bermuda (to UK) | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba (to Netherlands) | Native | No | |||
| Brazil | Native | No | |||
| Bulgaria | Vagrant | No | |||
| Canada | Native | No | |||
| Cayman Islands (to UK) | Native | No | |||
| Chile | Vagrant | No | |||
| Colombia | Native | No | |||
| Costa Rica | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Cuba | Native | No | |||
| Curaçao (to Netherlands) | Native | No | |||
| Denmark | Vagrant | No | |||
| Dominica | Native | No | |||
| Dominican Republic | Native | No | |||
| Ecuador | Native | No | |||
| El Salvador | Native | No | |||
| Fiji | Vagrant | No | Yes | ||
| France | Vagrant | No | |||
| French Guiana | Native | No | |||
| Gambia | Vagrant | No | |||
| Gibraltar (to UK) | Vagrant | No | |||
| Greece | Vagrant | No | |||
| Greenland (to Denmark) | Vagrant | No | |||
| Grenada | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Guadeloupe (to France) | Native | No | |||
| Guatemala | Native | No | |||
| Guyana | Native | No | |||
| Haiti | Native | No | |||
| Honduras | Native | No | |||
| Iceland | Vagrant | No | |||
| Ireland | Vagrant | No | |||
| Jamaica | Native | No | |||
| Kiribati | Vagrant | No | |||
| Marshall Islands | Vagrant | No | |||
| Martinique (to France) | Native | No | |||
| Mexico | Native | No | |||
| Montserrat (to UK) | Native | No | |||
| Morocco | Vagrant | No | |||
| Namibia | Vagrant | No | |||
| Netherlands | Vagrant | No | |||
| Nicaragua | Native | No | |||
| Northern Mariana Islands (to USA) | Vagrant | No | |||
| Panama | Native | No | |||
| Peru | Native | No | |||
| Pitcairn Islands (to UK) | Vagrant | No | |||
| Portugal | Vagrant | No | |||
| Puerto Rico (to USA) | Native | No | |||
| Samoa | Vagrant | No | |||
| Senegal | Vagrant | No | |||
| Sint Maarten (to Netherlands) | Native | No | |||
| Spain | Vagrant | No | |||
| St Kitts and Nevis | Native | No | |||
| St Lucia | Native | No | |||
| St Martin (to France) | Native | No | |||
| St Pierre and Miquelon (to France) | Vagrant | No | Yes | ||
| St Vincent and the Grenadines | Native | No | |||
| Suriname | Native | No | |||
| Sweden | Vagrant | No | |||
| Trinidad and Tobago | Native | No | |||
| Turks and Caicos Islands (to UK) | Native | No | Yes | Yes | |
| United Kingdom | Vagrant | No | |||
| United States Minor Outlying Islands (to USA) | Vagrant | No | |||
| USA | Native | No | Yes | ||
| Venezuela | Native | No | |||
| Virgin Islands (to UK) | Native | No | |||
| Virgin Islands (to USA) | Native | No |
Important Bird Areas where this species has triggered the IBA criteria
| Country/Territory | IBA Name | IBA link |
|---|---|---|
| Anguilla (to UK) | Dog Island |  |
| Anguilla (to UK) | Prickly Pear (East and West) | |
| Anguilla (to UK) | Scrub Island | |
| Antigua and Barbuda | Christian Cove | |
| Antigua and Barbuda | Codrington Lagoon and the Creek | |
| Antigua and Barbuda | Fitches Creek Bay | |
| Antigua and Barbuda | Hanson's Bay – Flashes | |
| Antigua and Barbuda | McKinnons Salt Pond | |
| Antigua and Barbuda | Offshore Islands | |
| Antigua and Barbuda | Potworks Dam | |
| Antigua and Barbuda | Valley Church Bay | |
| Aruba (to Netherlands) | San Nicolas Bay Reef Islands | |
| Bahamas | Booby Island | |
| Bahamas | Cat Island Wetlands | |
| Bahamas | Great Inagua | |
| Bahamas | Grog Pond | |
| Bahamas | Harrold and Wilson Ponds National Park | |
| Bahamas | Long Island and Hog Cay | |
| Bahamas | North Atlantic Abaco Cays | |
| Bahamas | Red Bays | |
| Bahamas | Salt Cay | |
| Bahamas | South Beach Tidal Flats | |
| Bahamas | Southern Great Lake | |
| Cuba | Cayería Centro-Oriental de Villa Clara | |
| Cuba | Cayo Sabinal, Ballenatos y Manglares de la Bahía de Nuevitas | |
| Cuba | Gran Humedal del Norte de Ciego de Ávila | |
| Cuba | Humedal Sur de Sancti Spiritus | |
| French Guiana | Connétable | |
| French Guiana | Plaine Kaw et Pointe Béhague | |
| Guyana | Shell Beach | |
| Jamaica | Black River Great Morass | |
| Jamaica | Pedro Cays and Bank | |
| Sint Maarten (to Netherlands) | Great Salt Pond, Sint Maarten | |
| Sint Maarten (to Netherlands) | Pelikan Rock, Sint Maarten | |
| St Barthelemy (to France) | Turtle Island | |
| St Kitts and Nevis | Booby Island | |
| St Vincent and the Grenadines | All Awash Island | |
| St Vincent and the Grenadines | Battowia Island | |
| St Vincent and the Grenadines | Petit Canouan | |
| Trinidad and Tobago | Little Tobago Island | |
| Trinidad and Tobago | West Coast Mudflats | |
| Turks and Caicos Islands (to UK) | East Caicos and adjacent areas | |
| Turks and Caicos Islands (to UK) | Fish Ponds and Crossing Place Trail, Middle Caicos | |
| Turks and Caicos Islands (to UK) | Grand Turk Salinas and Shores | |
| Turks and Caicos Islands (to UK) | North, Middle and East Caicos Ramsar Site | |
| Turks and Caicos Islands (to UK) | Salt Cay Creek and Salinas | |
| Turks and Caicos Islands (to UK) | Turks Bank Seabird Cays | |
| Virgin Islands (to UK) | Anegada: Western salt ponds and coastal areas | |
| Virgin Islands (to UK) | Great Tobago | |
| Virgin Islands (to USA) | Saba Island and Cays | |
| Virgin Islands (to USA) | Southgate and Green Cay | |
Habitats & altitude
| Habitat (level 1) | Habitat (level 2) | Importance | Occurrence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | Sea Cliffs and Rocky Offshore Islands | major | breeding |
| Marine Intertidal | Sandy Shoreline and/or Beaches, Sand Bars, Spits, Etc | major | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Macroalgal/Kelp | major | non-breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Macroalgal/Kelp | major | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Pelagic | major | non-breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Pelagic | major | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Seagrass (Submerged) | major | non-breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Seagrass (Submerged) | major | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Loose Rock/pebble/gravel | major | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Loose Rock/pebble/gravel | major | non-breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Rock and Rocky Reefs | major | non-breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Rock and Rocky Reefs | major | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Sandy | major | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Sandy | major | non-breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Sandy-Mud | major | non-breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Sandy-Mud | major | breeding |
| Altitude | 0 - 0 m | Occasional altitudinal limits |
Utilisation
| Purpose | Primary form used | Life stage used | Source | Scale | Level | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pets | Whole | Adults and juveniles | Wild | International | Non-trivial | Recent |
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2013) Species factsheet: Larus atricilla. Downloaded from
http://www.birdlife.org on 26/05/2013.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2013) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from
http://www.birdlife.org on 26/05/2013.
This information is based upon, and updates, the information published in BirdLife International (2000) Threatened birds of the world. Barcelona and Cambridge, UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, BirdLife International (2004) Threatened birds of the world 2004 CD-ROM and BirdLife International (2008) Threatened birds of the world 2008 CD-ROM. These sources provide the information for species accounts for the birds on the IUCN Red List.
To provide new information to update this factsheet or to correct any errors, please email BirdLife
To contribute to discussions on the evaluation of the IUCN Red List status of Globally Threatened Birds, please visit BirdLife's Globally Threatened Bird Forums.
| Key facts | |
|---|---|
| Current IUCN Red List category | Least Concern |
| Family | Laridae (Gulls and terns) |
| Species name author | Linnaeus, 1758 |
| Population size | mature individuals |
| Population trend | Increasing |
| Distribution size (breeding/resident) | 1,030,000 km2 |
| Country endemic? | No |
| Links to further information | |
| - Summary information on this species | |
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