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Black-headed Gull
Chroicocephalus ridibundus
Silhouette: Hans Hillewaert · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderCharadriiformes (Shorebirds and Allies)
- FamilyLaridae (Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers)
- GenusChroicocephalus (Masked Gulls and allies)
- SpeciesChroicocephalus ridibundus (Black-headed Gull)
In 3 days ~70% in a week ~90%
1,221 Verified sightings at Cairngorms National Park From 2019 to 2026
19,925 In all 26 parks
June Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted
About the Black-headed Gull
The black-headed gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) is a small gull that breeds in much of the Palearctic in Europe and Asia, and also locally in smaller numbers in coastal eastern Canada. Most of the population is migratory and winters further south, but many also remain in the milder areas of northwestern Europe. It was formerly sometimes cited as "common black-headed gull" to distinguish it from "great black-headed gull" (an old name for Pallas's gull).
The genus name Chroicocephalus is from the Ancient Greek words khroizo, "to colour", and kephale, "head". The specific name ridibundus is Latin for "laughing". The black-headed gull was formally described in 1766 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the twelfth edition of his Systema Naturae. He placed it with the other gulls in the genus Larus and coined the binomial name Larus ridibundus. Linnaeus specified the locality as Mari Europaeo or European seas.
Genetic studies published early in the 21st century showed that the genus Larus was paraphyletic with respect to other gull genera, and extensive changes to the taxonomy of gulls were made with many species of gull removed from Larus and transferred to other... Wikipedia →
Recent sightings of Black-headed Gull in Cairngorms National Park
LIVEiNaturalistGlobal Distribution
Parks Where Found
Cities Where Found
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 2 | Copenhagen | 🇩🇰 Denmark | |
| 3 | Manchester | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 4 | London | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 5 | Leeds | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 6 | Amsterdam | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 7 | Kyiv | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | |
| 8 | Warsaw | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 9 | Birmingham | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 10 | Belgrade | 🇷🇸 Serbia |
Zoos & Centres Where Found
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zoo Pilsen | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 2 | Ramat Gan Safari | 🇮🇱 Israel | |
| 3 | London Zoo | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 4 | Pyrénées Animal Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 5 | Odesa Zoo | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | |
| 6 | Lake Biwa Museum | 🇯🇵 Japan |
Closest Relatives at Cairngorms National Park
Before you go
What are the chances of seeing a Black-headed Gull in Cairngorms National Park?
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Black-headed Gull sighting in Cairngorms National Park on a given day, based on 1,221 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 20th most-seen of the 140 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
When is the best time to see a Black-headed Gull in Cairngorms National Park?
April to June
In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Black-headed Gull in Cairngorms National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September to November, the lowest months.
What time of day is best to see a Black-headed Gull?
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black-headed Gull sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Is Cairngorms National Park the best place to see a Black-headed Gull?
8th of 26
Of the 26 parks where we can rate Black-headed Gull sightings, Cairngorms National Park ranks 8th at about 30%. The best odds are in Wadden Sea National Park (Germany, about 70%), Camargue (France, about 70%) and Hortobágy National Park (Hungary, about 70%). All parks ranked.
Which relatives of the Black-headed Gull live in Cairngorms National Park?
Same family: Laridae
The closest relatives of the Black-headed Gull that you can see in Cairngorms National Park (family Laridae, Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers) are Common Gull (about 20%) and European Herring Gull (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
Where does the Black-headed Gull sighting chance come from?
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black-headed Gull is recorded against all the birds logged in Cairngorms National Park (1,221 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
