img

Brown-headed Gull

Conservation status

Least Concern

Population Trend

Stable

Alternate Names

Larus brunnicephalus

Native Habitat

Reservoir

Diet

Fish, Insects

img

Brown-headed Gull

Chroicocephalus brunnicephalus

Breeding adult’s head is the color of milk chocolate, lightening towards the bill. Non-breeding and first-winter birds have a dark ear patch and faint traces of the dark hood. All plumages may be confused with smaller Black-headed Gull, but note pale eyes and more extensive black on the primaries in all plumages. Breeds on high-altitude lakes on the Tibetan Plateau and winters on marshes, estuaries, lakes and rivers, most often in coastal areas.

Regional Names
  • Assamese:
    ৰামপৰা
  • Bengali:
    খয়েরিমাথা গাঙচিল
  • Gujarati:
    લડાખી ધોમડો
  • Hindi:
    भुरी गंगाचिल्ली
  • Malayalam:
    തവിട്ടു തലയൻ കടൽകാക്ക
  • Marathi:
    तपकिरी डोक्याचा कुरव
  • Nepali:
    खैरोटाउके गंगाचील
  • Sanskrit:
    बभृशीर्ष गङ्गाचिल्ली
Media Gallery
Taxanomy

CHARADRIIFORMES
LARIDAE
Chroicocephalus brunnicephalus

Quick Facts
  • It can elegantly ride the waves in the roughest weather.
  • Like most gulls, these are long-lived birds.