Leucophaeus scoresbii

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Divisio: Archosauria
Cladus: Avemetatarsalia
Cladus: Ornithodira
Subtaxon: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauriformes
Cladus: Dracohors
Cladus: Dinosauria
Ordo: Saurischia
Cladus: Eusaurischia
Subordo: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Cladus: Averostra
Cladus: Tetanurae
Cladus: Avetheropoda
Cladus: Coelurosauria
Cladus: Tyrannoraptora
Cladus: Maniraptoromorpha
Cladus: Maniraptoriformes
Cladus: Maniraptora
Cladus: Pennaraptora
Cladus: Paraves
Cladus: Eumaniraptora
Cladus: Avialae
Infraclassis: Aves
Cladus: Avebrevicauda
Cladus: Pygostylia
Cladus: Ornithothoraces
Cladus: Ornithuromorpha
Cladus: Carinatae
Parvclassis: Neornithes
Cohors: Neognathae
Cladus: Neoaves
Ordo: Charadriiformes
Subordo: Lari

Familia: Laridae
Subfamilia: Larinae
Genus: Leucophaeus
Species: Leucophaeus scoresbii
Name

Leucophaeus scoresbii (Traill, 1823)
Synonyms

Larus scoresbii (protonym)
Larus haematorhynchus P. P. King, 1828, Zoological Journal 4: 103.

References

Memoirs of the Wernerian Natural History Society 4: 514, pl.XVI fig.1.

Vernacular names
العربية: نورس الدلفين
català: Gavina de Magallanes
čeština: Racek magellanský
Cymraeg: Gwylan Magellan
Deutsch: Blutschnabelmöwe
English: Dolphin Gull
Esperanto: Magelana mevo
español: Gaviota gris
فارسی: کاکایی دلفین
suomi: Patagonianlokki
français: Goéland de Scoresby
հայերեն: Մագելանի որոր
italiano: Gabbiano di Magellano
日本語: マゼランカモメ
Nederlands: Dolfijnmeeuw
Diné bizaad: Tónteel tsídii bidaaʼ kʼíjíchiiʼígíí
русский: Магелланова чайка
svenska: Delfinmås
Tiếng Việt: Mòng biển cá heo
中文: 海豚鷗

The dolphin gull (Leucophaeus scoresbii), sometimes erroneously called the red-billed gull (a somewhat similar but unrelated species from New Zealand), is a gull native to southern Chile and Argentina, and the Falkland Islands. It is a coastal bird inhabiting rocky, muddy and sandy shores and is often found around seabird colonies. They have greyish feathers, and the feathers on their wings are a darker shade. Dolphin gulls have a varied diet, eating many things ranging from mussels to carrion.

The modern scientific name Leucophaeus scoresbii, together with the obsolete common name Scoresby's gull, commemorates the English explorer William Scoresby (1789–1857).[2]
Distribution

The dolphin gull is found round the coasts of Chile, Argentina and the Falkland Islands. It is a vagrant to South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It is found on rocky coasts and in the vicinity of other colonies of seabirds, slaughterhouses, sewage outflows and farmyards.[1]
Behaviour

The dolphin gull is a scavenger and opportunistic predator. It feeds on carrion, offal, bird eggs, nestlings, marine invertebrates and other natural food. When humans disturb nesting seabirds, it takes advantage of the absence of adult birds to raid their vacated nests. It was found that excluding humans from areas where cormorants were nesting increased the reproductive success of the cormorants.[3] It also takes advantage of the activities of marine mammals to scavenge for dead fish, placentae and faeces, which are a major attraction.[1]
Immature

Dolphin gulls nest in small colonies of up to 200 pairs and are usually on low cliffs, sand or shingle beaches, headlands or marshy depressions. Two to three eggs are laid in December and the chicks fledge in March. The older chicks gather together in crèches.[citation needed]
Status

The dolphin gull is listed by the IUCN as being of "Least Concern". This is because it has a very wide range, has a stable population and an estimated total population of 10,000 to 28,000 individuals.[1]
References

BirdLife International (2012). "Leucophaeus scoresbii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
Hince, Bernadette (2000). The Antarctic Dictionary: A Complete Guide to Antarctic English. Csiro Publishing. p. 299. ISBN 978-0-643-10232-3. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
Channing R. Kury; Michael Gochfeld (1975). "Human interference and gull predation in cormorant colonies". Biological Conservation. 8 (1): 23–34. Bibcode:1975BCons...8...23K. doi:10.1016/0006-3207(75)90076-2.