# Franklin's gull (*Leucophaeus pipixcan*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/franklins-gull  
Data as of: 2026-11-14

Franklin's gull (Leucophaeus pipixcan) is a bird in the family Laridae, order Charadriiformes. It is a small, migratory omnivore, and adults typically weigh about 280 g with a wingspan of typically about 91.5 cm. The habitat listed for this living species is coastal, and a clutch holds 3 eggs, with 1 clutch per year.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 280 g |
| Length | 32 cm – 36 cm |
| Wingspan | 86 cm – 97 cm |
| Lifespan | 9.4 years |
| Diet | Omnivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 9.42 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | coastal |
| Egg incubation | 24 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 3 |
| Age at maturity | 2 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Reproduction | Eggs |
| Lifestyle | Generalist |
| Migration | Migratory |
| Conservation status | Not recorded |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Introduced range

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists it as introduced in 1 country. Introduced: Belgium. Source: https://griis.org/ (CC BY 4.0).

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Charadriiformes
- family: Laridae
- genus: Leucophaeus
- species: *Leucophaeus pipixcan* (Wagler, 1831)

Synonyms: *Larus franklini*, *Larus pipixcan*, *Larus pipixcan*, *Leucophaeus pipixcan pipixcan*, *Leucophaeus pipxcan*

## Common questions

### How much does a franklin's gull weigh?

Adults typically weigh about 280 g. Our sources report values from 279 g to 281 g.

### What is the wingspan of a franklin's gull?

The wingspan is typically about 91.5 cm. Sources report values from 86 cm to 97 cm.

### What does the franklin's gull eat?

The franklin's gull is an omnivore. Its foraging lifestyle is classed as generalist.

### How many eggs does a franklin's gull lay?

A clutch holds 3 eggs, with 1 clutch per year. The eggs are incubated for 24 days.

### How long does a franklin's gull live?

The typical lifespan is 9.4 years, and the highest recorded value is also up to 9.4 years.

### Who named Leucophaeus pipixcan?

The scientific name authority is (Wagler, 1831). The species belongs to the genus Leucophaeus in the family Laridae.

### Is the franklin's gull an invasive species?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the franklin's gull as introduced in 1 country: Belgium, but does not flag it as invasive in any of them.

## 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).
- [Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (GRIIS)](https://griis.org/), CC BY 4.0, 2026-11-13. Pagad, S., Genovesi, P., Carnevali, L., Schigel, D. & McGeoch, M.A. (2018) Introducing the Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species. Scientific Data 5: 170202. https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2017.202. Country checklists published through GBIF by the IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group.
- [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: Franklin's gull (Leucophaeus pipixcan). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/franklins-gull