Contact | Birds of Cuba Home Page

BIRDS BY COLOR Black Birds Blue Birds Brown Birds Gray Birds Green Birds Orange Birds Red Birds Yellow Birds

TYPES OF BIRD GROUPS Birds Of Prey Field And Stream Forest Birds Game Birds Hummingbirds Marsh Birds Seabirds Shorebirds Wading Birds Waterfowl

CONCERNED BIRD GROUPS Extinct Birds

Birder's Code Of Ethics

OTHER TOPICS Links Contact BOC Site Build It! reviews

Birds of Cuba, Vagrant Visitors, Introduced Birds and Possibilities

Gulls

Goélands

Larus, Pagophila, Rhodostethia & Xema

Lives, Habitats & Pictures of Gulls

There are at least eight types of gull species seen in Cuba. These birds are fairly well distributed throughout the Cuban island, along the coastlines and at sea. Although, gulls are referred to as seagulls on a regular basis by most people, they are referred to as "gulls" in the birding society.

Gulls are no doubt some of the harder birds to easily identify. The plumage of the juveniles of different species takes from two to four years to achieve an adult plumage. Some of the gull types have a non-breeding and a breeding plumage that changes throughout the seasons. To make this even more challenging, gullsvcross-breed with other types of gulls, forming hybrids that reflect the looks and characteristics of each of the parent birds.

Originally, gulls were only scavengers of the waters on lakes, rivers or oceans on the continents and islands. Today, these same birds compete with the crows in scavenging the city parks and food outlets. Gull species range in size from the the small Little Gull with an approximate body length of 12 inches and a wingspan of 24 inches, to the large Great Black-backed Gull with an approximate body length of 30 inches and a wingspan in the mid-sixty inches.

Click on the bird names listed below to see pictures of the Gulls seen in Cuba

Black-headed Gull

Bonaparte's Gull

Great Black-backed Gull

Herring Gull

Laughing Gull

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Ring-billed Gull

Sabine's Gull

Birds of Cuba