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 →
5–10% of wildlife watchers report a Laughing Gull sighting in Paracas National Reserve, based on 40 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
Closest Relatives at Paracas National Reserve
Grey Gull
Leucophaeus modestus
Franklin's Gull
Leucophaeus pipixcan
Belcher's Gull
Larus belcheri
Dominican Gull
Larus dominicanus
Grey-hooded Gull
Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus
Inca Tern
Larosterna inca
Black Skimmer
Rynchops niger
Elegant Tern
Thalasseus elegans
Royal Tern
Thalasseus maximus
Sandwich Tern
Thalasseus sandvicensis
Peruvian Tern
Sternula lorata
Andean Gull
Chroicocephalus serranus
📅 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 Paracas National Reserve?
About 9% of wildlife watchers report a Laughing Gull sighting in Paracas National Reserve, based on 40 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Laughing Gull in Paracas National Reserve?
March has the highest sighting rate for Laughing Gull in Paracas National Reserve in our monthly data.