Leucophaeus pipixcan
The Franklin's Gull (*Leucophaeus pipixcan*) is a striking small gull, measuring 32-36 cm (12.5-14 in) in length with a wingspan of 85-92 cm (33-36 in) and weighing 200-300g (7-10.5 oz). During the breeding season, adults boast a full black hood, dark red bill, and dark red legs, contrasting sharply with their white body and dark grey upperparts. A key identification feature in flight is the distinctive white trailing edge of the primaries, forming a 'white crescent' bordered by a black subte...
Primarily breeds in shallow, freshwater prairie marshes and wetlands; during migration and winter, frequents agricultural fields, coastlines, and estuaries at low elevations.
Mainly insects (grasshoppers, locusts, beetles), earthworms, small fish, and crustaceans; primarily forages by aerial hawking and ground gleaning.
Franklin's Gulls are highly social birds, forming enormous, dense colonies during the breeding season and massive flocks during migration and winter, sometimes numbering in the tens of thousands. Their foraging strategy is largely aerial, hawking insects on the wing with impressive agility, often...
Franklin's Gulls breed across the inland prairies of North America, predominantly in south-central Canada (Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba) and the north-central United States (North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa). They undertake an extensive migration, utilizing a broad corridor across t...
Least Concern
- Named after Sir John Franklin, an Arctic explorer who commanded expeditions in the early 19th century. - Undertakes one of the longest annual migrations of any gull species, traveling from the North American prairies to coastal South America. - Breeding adults often develop a delicate pinkish f...