Laughing Gull

Leucophaeus articalla

On our field trip, we observed laughing gulls flying in the sky.  The Laughing Gull’s domain is Eukarya, the kingdom is Animalia, the phylum is chordata, the class is Aves, the order is Charadriiformes, the family is Laridae, the genus is Leucophaeus, and the species is Artricalla.  Laughing gulls can be found on bays, estuaries, and the coast.  Their symmetry is bilateral, they are heterotrophic, and are endothermic.  This creature is gray, and white, a black with a touch-of-red beak and black legs.  Laughing gulls also have wings.     A behavioral adaptation is that they are noisy, aggressive, and will eat anything.  Did you know that the laughing gull has no taste buds?  Laughing gulls are supposed to eat small fish and shrimp, but they will eat anything, including “people” food.  Laughing gulls are harmed by humans and plastic.    I got this photo from commons.wikimedia.org