Wildlifeof Nepal
Slender-billed Gull
Gulls, Terns & SkuasLarus genei
Basic stats
Diet
About half fish, taken by diving from low flight; invertebrates and flying insects
Habitat
Breeds on islands, lagoons and lakes; winters on coastal estuaries, bays, deltas, marshes and grassland
Range
Breeds around the Mediterranean and north-western Indian Ocean (including Pakistan); winters as far as North Africa and India
Incubation period
About 25 days
Size
37-40cm
Wingspan
90-102cm
The slender-billed gull is a mid-sized gull, 37 to 40cm long with a wingspan of 90 to 102cm, slightly larger than the black-headed gull. It has a pale grey body, white head and breast with a faint pink tinge in summer, black wingtips, a long tapering dark red bill and dark red legs, and no black hood. It was described in 1839 and named after the Italian naturalist Giuseppe Gene (Wikipedia, general species account).
It nests in colonies on the ground, laying up to three brown-spotted eggs that hatch after about 25 days. About half its food is fish, taken by diving from low flight, and it also probes mud and catches insects in the air. Most birds migrate, wintering as far south as North Africa and India. Pakistan is a breeding area; the source does not mention Nepal (Wikipedia, general species account).
Quick answers
- What does the Slender-billed Gull eat?
- About half fish, taken by diving from low flight; invertebrates and flying insects
- What habitat does the Slender-billed Gull live in?
- Breeds on islands, lagoons and lakes; winters on coastal estuaries, bays, deltas, marshes and grassland
- Where is the Slender-billed Gull found?
- Breeds around the Mediterranean and north-western Indian Ocean (including Pakistan); winters as far as North Africa and India
- How long are the eggs of the Slender-billed Gull incubated?
- About 25 days
- How big is the Slender-billed Gull?
- 37-40cm
- What is the wingspan of the Slender-billed Gull?
- 90-102cm