Laughing Gull
Leucophaeus atricilla
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderCharadriiformes (Caradriformes)
- FamilyLaridae (Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers)
- GenusLeucophaeus (Hooded Gulls)
- SpeciesLeucophaeus atricilla (Laughing Gull)
The laughing gull (Leucophaeus atricilla) is a medium-sized gull of North and South America. Named from its laugh-like call, it is an opportunistic omnivore and scavenger. It breeds in large colonies mostly along the Atlantic coast of North America, the Caribbean, and northern South America. Two subspecies are accepted, L. a. atricilla, which occurs from the West Indies to the Venezuelan islands, and L. a. megalopterus, which occurs from southeast Canada down to Central America. Wikipedia →
70–80% of wildlife watchers report a Laughing Gull sighting in Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve, based on 719 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
Closest Relatives at Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve
Franklin's Gull
Leucophaeus pipixcan
Royal Tern
Thalasseus maximus
Sandwich Tern
Thalasseus sandvicensis
Black Skimmer
Rynchops niger
Gull-billed Tern
Gelochelidon nilotica
Caspian Tern
Hydroprogne caspia
Forster's Tern
Sterna forsteri
American Herring Gull
Larus smithsonianus
Least Tern
Sternula antillarum
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Larus fuscus
Ring-billed Gull
Larus delawarensis
Cabot's Tern
Thalasseus acuflavidus
📅 Monthly Probability
☀️ When They're Spotted
Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Laughing Gull in Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve?
About 75% of wildlife watchers report a Laughing Gull sighting in Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve, based on 719 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Laughing Gull in Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve?
July has the highest sighting rate for Laughing Gull in Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve in our monthly data.