🌍 Cape Gull (Larus dominicanus vetula) The Cape Gull, the southern African subspecies of the Kelp Gull, is a large bird with a distinctive adult appearance featuring a white head and body, a black back and wings, a yellow bill with a red spot, and dark eyes. Its distribution is primarily along the coasts of southern Africa, from Namibia to the Eastern Cape. Behaviourally, they are gregarious, sedentary scavengers and omnivores, often found near human activity like landfills and fishing operations. Four other subspecies are recognised. Gemini 3 (Edited) Conservation status: Least Concern (IUCN 3.1) Fun fact: They are renowned for their clever foraging technique: picking up hard-shelled molluscs like mussels or limpets, flying up several meters, and then dropping them onto rocks to crack them open—a form of "tool use" in the bird world. 📷: Photo by holmespj via Pixabay https://pixabay.com/photos/seagull-kelp-gull-south-africa-3406282/ MOKZ

🌍 Cape Gull (Larus dominicanus vetula) #AfricanBirds | #CapeGull #AfricanKelpGull #KelpGull #LarusDominicanus | #KelpGulls #Gulls #GullFamily #Seabirds #Shorebirds 📷: Photo by holmespj🦉 #MyBirdcards | #birdsoftheworld #birds ❤️🦜

🌎 Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) The Ring-billed Gull is a medium-sized gull with a white head and underparts, gray back, and black wingtips. A key feature is a black ring encircling its yellow bill and yellowish legs. Widely found across North America, often near large inland lakes, rivers, and coastal areas, especially during the breeding season. Ring-billed Gulls migrate south for winter. Highly opportunistic and social, often seen in large flocks, they feed by wading, surface-dipping, and scavenging. No subspecies are recognised. 2.5 Flash (Edited) Conservation status: Least Concern (IUCN 3.1) Fun fact: Ring-billed Gulls have been observed engaging in what appears to be play, by dropping an object while airborne and then swooping down to catch it again before it hits the ground. 📷: Photo by JackBulmer via Pixabay https://pixabay.com/photos/bird-seagull-ring-billed-gull-4384804/ CMDM

New addition! 🌎 Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) #NorthAmericanBirds #CaribbeanBirds | #RingBilledGull #LarusDelawarensis | #AmericanGulls #Gulls #GullFamily #Seabirds #Shorebirds 📷: Photo by JackBulmer🦉 #MyBirdcards | #birdsoftheworld #birds ❤️🦜

🌎 Inca Tern (Larosterna inca) The Inca Tern is a striking seabird, easily identified by its dark grey body, white moustache-like feathers, and vibrant red-orange beak and feet. They are found along the Pacific coast of South America, ranging from Peru to central Chile. These birds are highly social, often forming large breeding colonies on rocky cliffs and islands. They feed on small fish, frequently diving into the water to catch their prey. No subspecies are recognised. 2.5 Flash (Edited) Conservation status: Near Threatened (IUCN 3.1) Fun fact: Inca Terns are known for their loud, high-pitched calls that many compare to a cat's meow. 📷: Photo by UnkoMan69 via Pixabay https://pixabay.com/photos/bird-wild-bird-animal-inca-7623166/ YCGY

🌎 Inca Tern (Larosterna inca) #SouthAmericanBirds | #IncaTern #LarosternaInca | #Terns #TernSubfamily #GullFamily #Shorebirds #Seabirds 📷: Photo by UnkoMan69 #MyBirdcards #birdsoftheworld #birds ❤️🦜

🌎 Black Skimmer (Rynchops niger) The Black Skimmer is a medium-sized seabird with a striking black and white appearance and a unique, bright red-and-black bill where the lower mandible is significantly longer than the upper. They are distributed along the coasts and large rivers of South and eastern North America. Skimmers are social birds that nest in colonies. They have a distinctive foraging behavior, flying low over the water with their lower bill "skimming" the surface to catch small fish by touch, often at dawn, dusk, or even at night. 2.5 Flash (Edited) Three subspecies are recognised. Conservation status: Least Concern (IUCN 3.1) 📷: Photo by Beto_MdP via Pixabay https://pixabay.com/photos/birds-waterfowl-american-skimmer-7469432/ RZXV

New Addition! 🌎 Black Skimmer (Rynchops niger) #SouthAmericanBirds #NorthAmericanBirds | #BlackSkimmer #RynchopsNiger | #Skimmers #GullFamily #Shorebirds #Seabirds 📷: Photo by Beto_MdP🦜 #MyBirdcards | #birdsoftheworld #birds

🌎🌍 Grey-headed gull (Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus) The grey-headed gull, also known as the grey-hooded gull, displays a pale grey head in breeding plumage, with a grey body, and red bill and legs. In non-breeding plumage the grey hood is lost. They are found in South America and Africa, near wetlands and coasts, and are not truly migratory. They are gregarious, forming large flocks, and breed in colonies in reedbeds or marshes, laying 2-3 eggs. They feed on fish, invertebrates, and scavenge. Their call is a raucous "caw". Two subspecies are currently recognised. Conservation status: Least Concern (IUCN 3.1) 📷: Photo by Beto_MdP via Pixabay https://pixabay.com/photos/seagull-ornithology-bird-watching-8733714/ OEDS

New addition! 🌎🌍 Grey-headed gull (Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus) #AfricanBirds #SouthAmericanBirds | #GreyHeadedGull #GreyHoodedGull #ChroicocephalusCirrocephalus | #Gulls #GullFamily #Seabirds #Shorebirds 📷: Photo by Beto_MdP🦜 #birdsoftheworld #birds