Bonaparte's Gull (Chroicocephalus philadelphia) | Species | ||||
 (1/1000th sec at f13. Click image for larger version. © David Hastings) DescriptionL: 28 - 38 cm; WS: 76 - 80 cm A small, graceful gull with bright white patches in its wings. Immature similar to nonbreeding adult, but with brownish black bar across the base of the wing, much black in the outer wing, and a black band across the tip of the tail. It has a black bill. It is found in North America, breeding in the north and wintering around the Gulf of Mexico. Vagrants occasionally turn up in Europe. It breeds around lakes and marshes in boreal forest. It winters along lakes, rivers, marshes, bays, and beaches along coasts. The Bonaparte's Gull is the only gull that regularly nests in trees. It feeds on small fish and invertebrates. It is regarded as being of Least Concern by the IUCN. Sightings
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