Little Gull - description, habitat, interesting facts

The content of the article

1 The appearance of a small seagull
2 Habitat of a small gull
3 Food small gulls
4 Peculiarities of breeding and nesting of the little gull

The Little Gull is the smallest member of the gull family. By color, a small gull resembles a black-headed laughter or a black-headed gull, although much smaller than them. The bird is very graceful and elegant, with beautiful features of feathering, no matter what age. Most often, the seagull of this subspecies can be found above shallow lakes and reservoirs; it easily flies above the water and catches insects in a special way. What more remarkable little gull, we understand.

The appearance of a small seagull

The body length of a small gull usually does not exceed 30 cm, the wingspan is 60-70 cm, and the weight is only 100 grams. The flight of a seagull is different from other birds — it flies over the water, rather than flying straight ahead. This feature makes the little gull look more like a marsh tern than a gull representative.A little bird in a wedding dress has a characteristic black color of the head in the form of a peculiar hat. Dark eyes completely merge with black color of plumage on the head, therefore they are almost imperceptible. The breast, sides, lower part of the neck and undertail are white, sometimes with a pinkish tinge on the peritoneum. The wings are gray. The bill is very thin and black with red patches. Paws are also painted in red, almost a crimson color. Young birds are very different from mature individuals - they do not have the characteristic black and contrasting colors in the plumage, but there are a lot of gray shades and numerous spots.

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Habitat of a small gull

The place of residence of a small gull is scattered throughout Eurasia, birds are prone to frequent flights, they wander in search of new lands with rich food. Usually a small gull is found on the territory of the post-Soviet states. Small gulls form temporary colonies, which scientists have divided into three conditional territories. The smallest population covers the European part of Russia, the Baltic States, Sweden, Finland, the Eastern part of Belarus and the Northern part of Ukraine.The second large part of the settlements of the small gull was recorded in Norway. Birds of this species were observed in the Netherlands, Great Britain, Denmark, Romania and adjacent territories. The most numerous colonies of gulls, which are considered central, are in Western Siberia and Northern Kazakhstan. The difficulty of tracking colonies is that birds often wander and are constantly in motion. In northern latitudes, a small gull is sent for wintering already at the end of July, and returns to nesting sites in April. A seagull settles where there is water, at least in small quantities. This provides the bird with food. Small ponds, lakes, marshy floodplains of rivers, shallow waters of different nature - this is what the seagull needs for comfort.

Food small gulls

The main diet of a small gull is insects and invertebrates. These can be dragonflies, beetles, locusts, mosquitoes, etc. The little gull prefers to catch insects on the fly - this is its corona way of getting food, like that of the swallow. In addition, the seagull is not averse to eat small fish, mollusks, various representatives of crustaceans.In search of food, a small gull flies low over the water and the coastal strip, sometimes hunting on the shore over low vegetation. In search of crustaceans, a bird can go down to the shore and walk in shallow water. Gulls of this species perfectly keep on the water, but they do not dive into the water.

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Peculiarities of breeding and nesting of the little gull

The sexual maturity of a small gull begins in the third year of life. Birds nest in colonies, including not only the small but also the black-headed gull, as well as the common and white-winged terns. Colonies on average are not very large in size - about 10-40 pairs of birds. A small gull is monogamous - forms a pair for life. The mating games of young gulls are very interesting - the male winds around the female in the air, alternating fast flights with short intervals of fluttering. On land, mating behavior is not as pronounced as in other birds. In the air, the male often emits characteristic sounds that call the female to form a pair. A small gull is trying to build nests in the wet parts of the coastal zone. Most often these are water thickets in which a shelter is built of reeds and other near-water plants.Rarely can a seagull choose a small depression for nesting on a rocky shore.

In the laying of a small gull there are usually 2-3 eggs that have a pale olive shade of the shell with black and gray splashes. The period of incubation is relatively short - about three weeks. Not only the female incubates the eggs - the male also takes part in it, replaces the young mommy when she goes to feed. The male actively participates in the life of the children and after the chicks hatch, he feeds the little ones, helps them to stand on the wing, teaches them to hide from predators. Three days after the chicks hatch, they will be able to leave the nest, and in a month they will learn to fly.

The little gull has a very characteristic cry that allows you to accurately identify the bird among other members of the family. The ringing voice of a small gull is heard as a lingering "k'ek-k'ek-k'ek". The share of a small gull in the composition of other gulls is about 8-10%. Due to the fact that small gulls often wander, they rarely return to the same nesting sites, it is rather difficult to explore birds, especially their migration routes. Scientists assume that the total number of a small gull is about 10 thousand pairs of individuals.This includes all sedentary, nomadic and migratory gulls of this species.

Modern ornithologists have noted the ubiquitous decrease in the small gull population. This is promoted by a bad ecology, widespread draining of reservoirs, poaching. Today, a small gull is not an endangered species, but is partially listed in the Red Books of some regions of Russia. In order not to lose a small seagull, as a unique look, you need to attach a maximum of protective measures for this.

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