CreatureData

Brown-headed gull

Chroicocephalus brunnicephalus (Jerdon, 1840)

LCLeast Concernbirds

The brown-headed gull (Chroicocephalus brunnicephalus) is a species in the family Laridae, order Charadriiformes. Recorded adults weigh 525 g to 632.5 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Brown-headed gull (Chroicocephalus brunnicephalus)
Photo: Mvshreeram · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the brown-headed gull

Weight
525 g – 632.5 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
wetlandsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
3src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Generalistsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the brown-headed gull live?

Not recorded

What is the brown-headed gull?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The brown-headed gull (Chroicocephalus brunnicephalus) is a small gull which breeds in the high plateaus of central Asia from Tajikistan to Ordos in Inner Mongolia. It is migratory, wintering on the coasts and large inland lakes of the Indian subcontinent. As is the case with many gulls, was traditionally placed in the genus Larus.

This gull breeds in colonies in large reedbeds or marshes, or on islands in lakes, nesting on the ground. Like most gulls, it is highly gregarious in winter, both when feeding or in evening roosts. It is not a pelagic species, and is rarely seen at sea far from coasts.

This is a bold and opportunist feeder, which will scavenge in towns or take invertebrates in ploughed fields with equal relish.

The brown-headed gull is slightly larger than black-headed gull. The summer adult has a pale brown head, lighter than that of black-headed, a pale grey body, and red bill and legs. The black tips to the primary wing feathers have conspicuous white "mirrors". The underwing is grey with black flight feathers. The brown hood is lost in winter, leaving just dark vertical streaks.

This bird takes two years to reach maturity. First year birds have a black terminal tail band, more dark areas in the wings, and, in summer, a less homogeneous hood.

This is a noisy species, especially at colonies.

From the Wikipedia article “Brown-headed gull” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Brown-headed_gull&oldid=1322140660), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the brown-headed gull endangered?

The brown-headed gull is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the brown-headed gull classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderCharadriiformes
  5. familyLaridae
  6. genusChroicocephalus
  7. SpeciesChroicocephalus brunnicephalus (Jerdon, 1840)

Synonyms Chroicocephala brunnicephalus, Larus brunnicephalus

Other names and names in other languages (52)
  • Indian black-headed gullEnglish
  • نورس بني الرأسArabic
  • Кафявоглава чайкаBulgarian
  • বাদামী মাথাওয়ালা জলকুক্কুটBangla
  • Gouelanig penn gellBreton
  • gavina del TibetCatalan
  • Кӹрӓн вуян колшӹреMari
  • racek hnědohlavýCzech
  • Brunhovedet MågeDanish
  • BraunkopfmöweGerman
  • BraunkopflachmöweGerman
  • TibetlachmöweGerman
  • brunkapa mevoEsperanto
  • Gaviota centroasiáticaSpanish
  • mägikajakasEstonian
  • کاکایی سرقهوه ایPersian
  • tiibetinlokkiFinnish
  • Mouette du TibetFrench
  • Faoileán ceanndonnIrish
  • Foillan kione-dhoneScottish Gaelic
  • שחף חום-ראשHebrew
  • planinski galebCroatian
  • barnafejű sirályHungarian
  • Camar kepala-coklatIndonesian
  • MýramáfurIcelandic
  • Gabbiano testabrunaItalian
  • チャガシラカモメJapanese
  • 갈색머리갈매기Korean
  • tibetinis kirasLithuanian
  • brūngalvas kaijaLatvian
  • തവിട്ടുതലയൻ കടൽക്കാക്കMalayalam
  • तपकिरी डोक्याचा कुरवMarathi
  • Burung Camar Kepala CoklatMalay
  • bruinkopmeeuwDutch
  • asiahettemåkeNorwegian
  • mewa tybetańskaPolish
  • بھورے سر آلا گلWestern Panjabi
  • gaivota-do-índicoPortuguese
  • guincho-do-tibetePortuguese
  • Буроголовая чайкаRussian
  • RuškesoaibáiskiNorthern Sami
  • čajka hnedohlaváSlovak
  • rjavoglavi galebSlovenian
  • Azijski smeđoglavi galebSerbian
  • brunhuvad måsSwedish
  • சாம்பல் தலை கடல் பறவைTamil
  • பழுப்பு தலை கடல் காக்கைTamil
  • นกนางนวลธรรมดาThai
  • Hint MartısıTurkish
  • мартин буроголовийUkrainian
  • 棕头鸥Chinese
  • 棕頭鷗Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the brown-headed gull

Other species in the same genus Chroicocephalus.

LC, Least Concern
Silver gull (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae)

Silver gull

Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae

Laridae

CompareBrown-headed gull vs Black-headed gullBrown-headed gull vs Slender-billed gullBrown-headed gull vs Silver gullBrown-headed gull vs Bonaparte's gull

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the brown-headed gull?

An adult brown-headed gull weighs 525 g – 632.5 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the brown-headed gull endangered?

The brown-headed gull is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the brown-headed gull?

The brown-headed gull (Chroicocephalus brunnicephalus) belongs to the family Laridae in the order Charadriiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Brown-headed gull (Chroicocephalus brunnicephalus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/brown-headed-gull

MLA

“Brown-headed gull (Chroicocephalus brunnicephalus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/brown-headed-gull.

BibTeX
@misc{brown_headed_gull_2026,
  title = {Brown-headed gull (Chroicocephalus brunnicephalus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/brown-headed-gull},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}