Kelp Gull
Kelp Gull
Larus dominicanus
Aves
COMMON

Stats

Lifespan
15-28 yrs
Size
Large
Diet
Omnivore
Activity
Diurnal
Social
Colony
Biome
Coastal shoreline
Range
Southern Hemisphere
Movement
Flight
Breeding
Egg-laying
Defense
Herd Safety
Status
Common

About

The Kelp Gull is a large seabird with a jet-black mantle and pure white underparts, among the most widespread gulls in the Southern Hemisphere. Some populations in Argentina have learned to feed by pecking the skin and blubber of living Southern Right Whales.

Life cycle

  1. 1.
    egg
    A clutch of eggs is incubated in the nest, kept warm by a brooding parent until the chicks pip free.
  2. 2.
    hatchling
    A naked or downy hatchling is fed in the nest by its parents.
  3. 3.
    juvenile
    A feathered juvenile fledges from the nest and learns to fly and forage.
  4. 4.
    adult
    Fully grown with adult plumage.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Aves
Order
Charadriiformes
Family
Laridae
Genus
Larus
Species
Larus dominicanus