The laughing gull is a medium-sized gull that breeds along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of North America. It gets its name from its distinctive “laughing” call which sounds like a loud, nasal “ha-ha-ha”. Laughing gulls are migratory birds that spend their winters along the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean islands, and northern parts of South America. During the summer breeding season, they can be found along the Atlantic coast from Maine to Florida, and along the Gulf coast from Florida to Texas. Laughing gulls nest colonially in coastal marshes, beaches, dredge spoil islands, and barrier islands. Their diet consists mainly of insects, fish, mollusks, crustaceans and some plant material. Laughing gulls are a common sight along beaches, marshes, harbors and coastal waterways. If you want to spot laughing gulls, here are some of the best places to look:
Along the Atlantic Coast
- Maine – Coastal salt marshes and beaches from Kittery to Lubec
- Massachusetts – Coastal beaches and marshes around Cape Cod and the Islands
- Rhode Island – Beavertail State Park, Sachuest Point, Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge
- Connecticut – Hammonasset Beach State Park, Bluff Point State Park, Sandy Point
- New York – Jones Beach State Park, Fire Island National Seashore, Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
- New Jersey – Sandy Hook, Brigantine Beach, Cape May Harbor
- Delaware – Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge, Delaware Seashore State Park
- Maryland – Assateague Island National Seashore, Ocean City beaches
- Virginia – Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, First Landing State Park
- North Carolina – Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, Cape Hatteras National Seashore
- South Carolina – Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge, Kiawah Island
- Georgia – Cumberland Island National Seashore, Tybee Island beaches
- Florida – Anastasia State Park, Fort De Soto Park, Sanibel Island
Along the Atlantic coast, the best places to spot laughing gulls are coastal beaches, marshes, bays, harbors and barrier islands from Maine to Florida. Key locations include Cape Cod, Long Island, the New Jersey shore, Assateague Island and the Outer Banks. Laughing gulls nest in marsh colonies and flock along beaches and coastal waters to feed.
Along the Gulf Coast
- Florida – St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, Apalachicola Bay
- Alabama – Dauphin Island, Mobile Bay, Gulf Islands National Seashore
- Mississippi – Gulf Islands National Seashore, Horn Island
- Louisiana – Breton National Wildlife Refuge, Barataria Preserve
- Texas – Bolivar Flats Shorebird Sanctuary, Galveston Island State Park
The Gulf coast from Florida to Texas offers excellent habitat for laughing gulls with coastal marshes, barrier islands, bays and beaches. Top spots include Dauphin Island in Alabama, Horn Island in Mississippi, and Bolivar Flats in Texas. Laughing gulls can be seen in breeding colonies, foraging along shorelines, and resting on beaches.
Appearance and Behavior
Size and Shape | Medium-sized gull, 15-17 inches long with 35-41 inch wingspan. Stocky body, rounded head, medium-length bill. |
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Plumage | Adults have gray back and upperwings, black hood, white undersides. Black legs and bill. Juveniles mottled brown and tan. |
Diet | Omnivorous – eats insects, fish, crustaceans, mollusks, eggs, small vertebrates and some plant material. Forages in shallow waters along shore. |
Nesting | Nests colonially in coastal marshes, beaches and dredge islands. Nest is a scrape lined with vegetation. |
Conservation Status | Least concern. Population estimated at over 1 million. |
Key identification features of the laughing gull include its medium size, stocky shape, black hood, and its distinctive cackling call. It breeds in dense coastal colonies and feeds both along shorelines and by dipping and surface seizing over water. Laughing gulls are common and their populations remain secure.
Marsh Nesting Habits
Laughing gulls build their nests colonially in coastal salt and brackish marshes along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. They favor sites with a mix of low grassy vegetation and shallow water.Marshes provide protection from predators and abundant food sources nearby like small fish, crabs and insect larvae. Laughing gulls arrive at breeding grounds from March to May.
Nest construction is simple – scrapes or shallow depressions lined with grasses, debris and seaweed. Nest density can be up to 2,000 nests per acre in a colony! Parents take turns incubating the typical clutch of 3 eggs for about 3 weeks until hatching in May or June. Both parents feed the chicks through bringing back small food items like fish, mollusks and insects. Young gulls fledge at around 5 weeks old.
Major threats to marsh-nesting laughing gulls include:
- Habitat loss through coastal development and erosion
- Predators like crows, raccoons, foxes
- Human disturbance
- Sea level rise
- Pollution
Conservation efforts focus on protecting coastal wetlands through preserving undeveloped buffer zones around marshes. Managing predator populations, restricting human access to colonies during breeding season, and taking steps to combat climate change are also important to maintain laughing gull populations.
Migration and Winter Range
Laughing gulls are migratory, traveling thousands of miles between their breeding range and wintering grounds each year. Here’s an overview of their migration:
- Spring Migration (March to May) – Leave coastal South America and Caribbean and fly north to breeding grounds along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts.
- Breeding Season (May to August) – Nest colonially and raise young on beaches, marshes and islands along the coast from Maine to Texas.
- Fall Migration (September to November) – Leave breeding grounds and migrate south back to wintering range in the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico and northern South America.
- Winter Range (November to March) – Found along the coasts of Central America, Venezuela, Colombia and the Caribbean Islands.
During winter, laughing gulls can be found in both coastal and inland habitats including beaches, marshes, lakes, fields, refuse dumps, and cities. They gather in large flocks numbering in the thousands.
Major staging and stopover sites during migration include coastal Texas, Louisiana, Florida, the Bahamas, Cuba and the Yucatan Peninsula. Laughing gulls have a broad winter range with the highest concentrations in Venezuela and Colombia.
Diet and Feeding
The laughing gull is an omnivore and opportunistic feeder. Its diet consists of a wide variety of both aquatic and terrestrial prey including:
- Small fish
- Crustaceans (crabs, shrimp, amphipods)
- Mollusks
- Marine worms
- Insects
- Spiders
- Other invertebrates
Laughing gulls employ a varied hunting strategy to capture food:
- Dipping – Flies low over water and dips down to snatch food items from surface
- Plunging – Dives completely underwater to capture prey
- Wading – Wades in shallow water to grab invertebrates and small fish
- Scavenging – Scavenges on carrion and discarded food
- Stealing – Steals food from other birds and animals
Additionally, laughing gulls sometimes forage on land, picking insects and other invertebrates from soil and vegetation. During breeding season, parents hunt almost continuously to provide food for chicks, with each chick eating up to 60 herring-sized fish per day! Laughing gulls are resourceful foragers that exploit a wide range of food sources.
Ecosystem Roles
As a common shorebird, the laughing gull fills several important roles in coastal ecosystems:
- Prey – An important food source for larger predators like eagles, hawks, owls and snakes.
- Pest Control – Help regulate insect, crab and snail populations.
- Nutrient Transport – Transport marine nutrients inland through guano deposition.
- Seed Dispersal – Disperse seeds of marsh plants through feces.
- Indicator Species – Sensitive to environmental changes and pollution. Population changes can signal issues.
However, in some locations laughing gulls are considered a nuisance or pest species due to conflicts with human activities:
- Raiding fisheries and damage to aquaculture sites
- Fouling buildings, boats and infrastructure with droppings
- Displacing threatened beach-nesting birds through nest site competition
- Spreading diseases to other bird species
Management strategies like habitat modification, nest disincentives and population control measures help reduce laughing gull impacts. Overall, they play an important ecological role across their coastal range.
Conservation Status
According to the IUCN Red List, the laughing gull is classified as a species of Least Concern:
- Global population estimated at over 1 million birds
- Widespread range along Atlantic and Gulf coasts
- Increasing population trend in many areas
However, there are some regional conservation issues:
- New England coast breeding populations declined by 90% from 1941 to 1978, likely due to nesting habitat loss. Conservation efforts have helped stabilize populations.
- Declines in Texas from habitat loss and disturbance. Classified as Near Threatened in the state.
- Oil spills pose a risk, especially in the Gulf of Mexico. The Deepwater Horizon spill oiled over 1,500 laughing gulls.
- Climate change threats through sea level rise, storms and altered prey distributions.
Targeted conservation initiatives along the Atlantic and Gulf coast help protect beach and marsh habitats. Maintaining protected coastal buffers, managing human activity near nesting sites, and closely monitoring populations are key strategies to preserve laughing gull populations.
Conclusion
In summary, the laughing gull is a medium-sized coastal gull recognizable by its dark hood and laughing vocalizations. It nests colonially in marshes along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, while wintering in the Caribbean and northern South America. Laughing gulls forage opportunistically on small fish, insects, crabs and other prey in shallow coastal waters. They fill important ecological niches across their range and remain common overall, although face some regional habitat loss and disturbance threats. Coastal conservation efforts focused on protecting marshes and managing human activity are key to ensuring the long-term survival of laughing gull populations.