# Black-headed gull (*Chroicocephalus ridibundus*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-headed-gull  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The black-headed gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) is a small bird in the family Laridae and the order Charadriiformes. Adults weigh from 254 to 294 g, with a representative mass of 271.7 g and a wingspan of 97 cm. It is a carnivorous aquatic predator of wetland habitats and is partially migratory. It lays one clutch per year with 2.7 eggs per clutch, incubated for 23.25 days, and it is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 254 g – 294 g |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 97 cm |
| Lifespan | 31.3 years |
| Diet | Aquatic predator |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 63 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | wetland |
| Egg incubation | 23.3 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 2.7 |
| Age at maturity | 24 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Lifestyle | Generalist |
| Migration | Partial |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Charadriiformes
- family: Laridae
- genus: Chroicocephalus
- species: *Chroicocephalus ridibundus* (Linnaeus, 1766)

Synonyms: *Chroicocephala ridibundus*, *Chroicocephalus capistratus*, *Chroicocephalus ridibundus lavrovi*, *Chroicocephalus ridibundus ridibundus*, *Chroicocephalus ridibundus ridibundus*, *Croicocephalus ridibundus*, *Larus capistratus*, *Larus kittlitzii*, *Larus ridibundus*, *Larus ridibundus minor*, *Larus ridibundus ridibundus*, *Larus ridibundus sibiricus*, *Larus slesvicensis*, *Larus slesvicensis*, *Larus slesvicensis*, *Sterna brunnea*, *Sterna obscura*, *Sterna obscura*, *Xema pileatum*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the black-headed gull?

The black-headed gull is a bird in the family Laridae, order Charadriiformes. Its size class is small.

### How heavy is a black-headed gull?

Adult Black-headed gulls weigh from 254 to 294 g, with a representative value of 271.7 g. The wingspan is 97 cm.

### What does the black-headed gull eat?

The black-headed gull is a carnivore classed as an aquatic predator.

### Is the black-headed gull endangered?

No. It is listed as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

### How long does a black-headed gull live?

Sources give a lifespan of 31.33 years for the black-headed gull, with values up to 63 years reported.

### How many eggs does a black-headed gull lay?

The black-headed gull lays 2.7 eggs per clutch and one clutch per year. The eggs are incubated for 23.25 days.

### Does the black-headed gull migrate?

Yes, the black-headed gull is partially migratory.

### Who named the black-headed gull?

The black-headed gull, Chroicocephalus ridibundus, was named by (Linnaeus, 1766).

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), CC BY 4.0, v7. Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Black-headed gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-headed-gull