Species

Franklin's gull

Leucophaeus pipixcan

A prairie gull with a dark hood and white-spotted wingtips, a rare migrant in Georgia.

Photo Millie Basden (opens in a new tab) / iNaturalist, CC BY 4.0 (opens in a new tab)

Migration

At a glance

Size: About 32 to 38 cm long
Weight: About 220 to 335 g
Habitat: Prairie marshes and farm fields; lakes and coasts on migration
Diet: Insects, earthworms and small fish
In Georgia: A rare migrant, mostly in autumn
Voice: A soft "kuk"
Rabies vector: No

Identification

Key marks: Dark grey back; black wingtips separated by a white band; white crescents around the eye; a partial dark hood in winter
Told apart from: Laughing gull, which lacks the white band on the wingtips and has a smudgier winter head
Where to look: Reservoirs and fields with other gulls, October and November

Behaviour

Franklin's gulls follow ploughs to catch insects and worms, and they nest on floating mats in prairie marshes. Nearly the whole population winters on the Pacific coast of South America.

Why they matter

Franklin's gulls are called "prairie doves" by farmers on the northern plains because they eat so many insects in newly worked fields. Their long migration from the prairies to Peru and Chile links two very different landscapes.

Reproduction and lifecycle

Nest — A floating mat of plants in prairie marshes
Eggs — Usually three
Incubation — About 24 days
Chicks — Fed by both parents
Flight — At about five to six weeks
Lifespan — Several years

Living around people

Franklin's gulls are rarely seen in Georgia and should be enjoyed from a distance.

Misconceptions

All black-hooded gulls in Georgia are laughing gulls. Most are; a Franklin's gull is a rare exception.

Related species

Seasonal activity

When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.

Breeding and active nests by month for this species
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Breeding	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Active nests	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Notes	In South America	In South America	Migrating north	Arriving on the prairies	Nesting	Nesting	Chicks	Flocks gathering	Migrating south	A few reach Georgia	Rare visitor	In South America

Where it lives

Recorded in 35 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.

Canada

Mexico

If you found one

Answer a few questions and you will get a specific answer for what you are looking at.

I found an animal