Laughing gull

(Larus atricilla)

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

The Laughing Gull is a coastal bird found from Nova Scotia to Venezuela. (Peterson, 1998) Except around the Salton Sea, the Laughing Gull is rarely found inland. Laughing Gulls prefer nesting on barrier beaches and estuarine islands with moderate to dense vegetation. A laughing gull has a bilateral symmetry, which means if I were to split it in half then if I folded it together then it would match up equally. The Laughing Gull has a complete tail band, gray wash on the nape, dark brown wings, and a brown head and body. During its first winter, the Laughing Gull acquires a slate gray color on its back and sides, but keeps all other characteristics. Laughing Gulls are noisy, aggressive, quarrelsome birds. They also feed on the eggs and young of other birds, including those of their own kind. The Laughing Gull is also a very sociable bird that migrates, rests, hunts, and scavenges with other Laughing Gulls. The Laughing Gull is the largest of the dark-hooded gulls. It is apparently named, as its extended, "ha-ha-ha" call resembles laughter. It is a carnivore as well as a scavenger. In the wild, it will eat insects, fish, shellfish, and crabs. The laughing gull is heterotrophic , it also happens to be endothermic.www.imagesgoogle.com