CreatureData

Grey-headed gull

Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus (Vieillot, 1818)

Status not recordedbirds

The grey-headed gull (Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus) is a species in the family Laridae, order Charadriiformes. Recorded adults weigh 308.5 g to 374.7 g and live up to 7.92 years.

Grey-headed gull (Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus)
Photo: vinicius_s_domingues · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the grey-headed gull

Weight
308.5 g – 374.7 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Wingspan
1 m – 1.05 msrc for Wingspan
Lifespan
7.92 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
7.92 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
wetlandsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
2.42src for Young per litter or clutch
Litters or clutches a year
1src for Litters or clutches a year
Lifestyle
Aerialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
Not recorded

How big is the grey-headed gull?

GREY-HEADED GULL · WINGSPAN 1.05 MADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 1.05 m, the recorded maximum wingspan of the grey-headed gull is about 62% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Where does the grey-headed gull live?

Not recorded

What is the grey-headed gull?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The grey-headed gull (Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus), also known as the grey-hooded gull, is a small species of gull which breeds patchily in South America and Africa south of the Sahara. It is not truly migratory, but is dispersive, becoming more widespread in winter. This species has occurred as a rare vagrant to the United States, Italy, and Spain. As is the case with many gulls, it had traditionally been placed in the genus Larus. Recent evidence suggests the South American and African populations may represent two separate cryptic species.

From the Wikipedia article “Grey-headed gull” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grey-headed_gull&oldid=1315129662), 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 grey-headed gull endangered?

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

How is the grey-headed gull classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderCharadriiformes
  5. familyLaridae
  6. genusChroicocephalus
  7. SpeciesChroicocephalus cirrocephalus (Vieillot, 1818)

Synonyms Chroicocephala cirrocephalus

Other names and names in other languages (48)
  • Gray-headed gullEnglish
  • Gray-hooded gullEnglish
  • Grey-hooded gullEnglish
  • GryskopmeeuAfrikaans
  • نورس رمادي الرأسArabic
  • Сивоглава чайкаBulgarian
  • Gouelanig penn louetBreton
  • gavina capgrisaCatalan
  • racek šedohlavýCzech
  • Gråhovedet MågeDanish
  • GraukopfmöweGerman
  • Σταχτοκέφαλος ΓλάροςGreek
  • grizkapa mevoEsperanto
  • gaviota cabecigrisSpanish
  • Gaviota cabecigrísSpanish
  • Gaviota capucho grisSpanish
  • Gaviota de Capucha GrisSpanish
  • Gaviota de capucho grisSpanish
  • hallpea-kajakasEstonian
  • کاکایی سرخاکستریPersian
  • harmaapäälokkiFinnish
  • Mouette à tête griseFrench
  • Faoileán ceannliathIrish
  • Foillan kione-lheeahScottish Gaelic
  • שחף אפור-ראשHebrew
  • szürkefejű sirályHungarian
  • HærumáfurIcelandic
  • Gabbiano testagrigiaItalian
  • ズアオカモメJapanese
  • pilkagalvis kirasLithuanian
  • pelēkgalvas kaijaLatvian
  • VarevakaMalagasy
  • grijskopmeeuwDutch
  • gråhodemåkeNorwegian
  • mewa szarogłowaPolish
  • gaivota-de-cabeça-cinzaPortuguese
  • gaivota-de-cabeça-cinzentaPortuguese
  • сероголовая чайкаRussian
  • RánesoaibáiskiNorthern Sami
  • čajka sivohlaváSlovak
  • sivoglavi galebSlovenian
  • gråhuvad måsSwedish
  • gri başlı martıTurkish
  • Сіра чайкаUkrainian
  • Мартин сіроголовийUkrainian
  • Mòng biển đầu xámVietnamese
  • 灰头鸥Chinese
  • 灰頭鷗Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMS

Relatives of the grey-headed gull

Other species in the same genus Chroicocephalus.

LC, Least Concern
Silver gull (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae)

Silver gull

Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae

Laridae

CompareGrey-headed gull vs Black-headed gullGrey-headed gull vs Slender-billed gullGrey-headed gull vs Brown-headed gullGrey-headed gull vs Silver gull

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the grey-headed gull?

An adult grey-headed gull weighs 308.5 g – 374.7 g and has a wingspan of 1 m – 1.05 m, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

How long does the grey-headed gull live?

The grey-headed gull has a recorded lifespan of 7.92 years.

What kind of animal is the grey-headed gull?

The grey-headed gull (Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus) 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). Grey-headed gull (Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/grey-headed-gull

MLA

“Grey-headed gull (Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/grey-headed-gull.

BibTeX
@misc{grey_headed_gull_2026,
  title = {Grey-headed gull (Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/grey-headed-gull},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}