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Photo by Don Paul
Photo Courtesy of Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
Franklin's Gull
Leucophaeus pipixcan
NatureServe conservation status
Global (G-rank): G5
State (S-rank): S4B
External links
General information
Franklin's gull, Larus pipixcan, breeds in both large and small nesting colonies along marshes in inland Canada, much of North Dakota, northern Montana, and in approximately a dozen other very localized areas in the northern United States and the Great Basin. Breeding colonies are commonly seen on the east side of Utah's Great Salt Lake during the summer months. Following breeding, Franklin's gulls will "wander" extensively throughout the prairie regions of the United States before heading south to their wintering grounds along the west coast of South America and the Gulf coast of the United States. Transients may be seen throughout Utah.
During migration, as well as during the breeding season, Franklin's gulls feed on earthworms, seeds in recently cultivated fields, and grasshoppers. When near water, they catch flying insects during flight or pluck insects from the water's surface. Male gulls attract females with their calls, and then the pair engages in a courtship behavior in which the female begs for food and the male regurgitates food for her. The pair builds a nest on top of the water and anchors it with vegetation. A male mates with just one female, and three eggs are incubated by both the male and the female. The young hatch after about twenty-five days, and both parents care for the hatchlings until the young leave the nest, about one month later. Franklin's gulls are very sensitive to human disturbance, and entire colonies will readily abandon nesting sites if bothered. Colonies shift locations yearly as water levels in marshes rise and fall.
Species range
BREEDS: Canadian Prairie Provinces south to east-central Oregon, southern Idaho, northwestern Utah, northwestern Wyoming, northeastern South Dakota, and northwestern Iowa. Nonbreeders occur in summer from east-central British Columbia and northeastern Manitoba south to northern New Mexico, southeastern Wyoming, Kansas, central Iowa, and Great Lakes. NORTHERN WINTER: primarily along Pacific coast of South America (less commonly north to Guatemala), south to southern Chile, casually along Gulf coast of Texas and Louisiana, and in Hawaii, rarely in southern California; accidental in Puerto Rico.
Migration
Casual migrant off both coasts of U.S. (National Geographic Society 1983). Migration in Costa Rica October-November (Pacific coast) and more abundantly April-early June (Stiles and Skutch 1989).
Habitat
Nonbreeding: seacoasts, bays, estuaries, lakes, rivers, marshes, ponds and irrigated fields (AOU 1983); mudflats. Nests in fresh-water marshes, shores of inland lakes, in areas of prairie and steppe. Nest is made of dead marsh plants; it is often a floating structure anchored to a living plant stem.
Food habits
Feeds primarily on insects. Catches insects while in flight; follows farmers' plows to feed on unearthed insects and their larvae; also eats aquatic insects and small fishes in small ponds and sloughs (Bent 1921).
Reproductive characteristics
Breeding begins in early May or early June (Harrison 1978). Both sexes incubate 2-3 eggs for about 18-20 days. Semi-precocial young are tended by both adults. Nests in colonies, which may include up to 15,000-20,000 individuals (Terres 1980).
References
- Ehrlich, P. R., D. S. Dobkin, and D. Wheye. 1988. The birder’s handbook[:] a field guide to the natural history of North American birds. Simon & Schuster, New York. xxx + 785 pp.
- Behle, W. H., Sorensen, E. D. and C. M. White. 1985. Utah birds: a revised checklist. Utah Museum of Natural History, Occasional Publication No. 4. Salt Lake City, UT.
- Burger, J., and M. Gochfeld. 1994. Franklin’s Gull (Larus pipixcan). Birds of North America 116.
