Franklin's Gull

The Franklin's Gull is a petite marine bird in the genus Leucophaeus that belongs to the Laridae family. The binomial name of the gull is Leucophaeus Pipixcan and it is a common display in the interior part of North America, after plows to feed on exposed insects, worms, and mice. The Franklin's Gull was named after a naval commissioned officer and an Arctic voyager, Sir John Franklin, who guided a voyage during 1823 in which the first example of the Franklin's Gull was in use. The Franklin's Gull breeds in Canadian central provinces and neighboring states in the northern part of the United States. The Franklin's Gull is a traveling gull, which winters in the Caribbean, Argentina, Peru, and Chile.

Features

The body of the Franklin's Gull is white and its wings and back are much dark gray in color when compared to all other gulls of an analogous size in its family, except the bigger laughing gull. The wings of the Franklin's Gull have black color tips with an adjoining white band. The legs and the bill of the Franklin's Gull are red in color and the hood of the breeding adult bird is black in color that will mostly be lost during the winter season.

The underparts of the Franklin's Gull are white in color and its entire head will be black in color during the breeding season. Juvenile birds will have a white underneath, with shadowy wash on the sides of their neck and across their breast. Top, ear section, and the nape of these young birds are dark, shadowy gray and their chin, forehead and throat are white in color. Franklin's Gulls have white crescents on top and underneath the eyes. Their wings and back are shadowy, brownish gray in color and their tail is seen with pale gray in color, with black, sub-terminal band, not containing white external feathers.

The First Alternate I summer Plumage is similar to adult winter, whereas the first Basic I winter plumage is black gray, but the wings are brownish. Head is pale with dark semi-hood as well as eyes. Eye crescents are thicker, and they usually, join at the back. The nape will be white in color, whereas the underside is white in color. The white colored tail at the bottom is found with wide blackish sub-terminal band, not comprising white external tail feathers.

Young Franklin's Gull birds are analogous in appearance to the adult birds, but they boast less developed hoods and the white-colored wing band is not available. Usually, juvenile birds attain their maturity stage after three years of their birth.

The Franklin's Gull birds usually breed in colonies close to prairie lakes with the nest built on the ground, or floating from time to time. The female gull is capable of laying two or three eggs in a single clutch, which will be incubated for three weeks.

Even though the Franklin's Gull bird is rare on the North American coasts, it occurs as an uncommon vagabond to the northwestern parts of Europe, West and South Africa, Japan, and Australia, with a solitary record of Eilat in Israel during 2002.

Diet

The Franklin's Gull is an omnivorous bird, and it mostly scavenges as well as looking for appropriate small prey. The Franklin's Gull mostly feeds on insects, worms, and mice that are exposed after the land is plowed.