Description:

Medium sized gull, with white 'flash' on primaries of upperwing and black on wing-tips. Smaller than Brown-headed, with finer bill and narrower and more pointed wings. Bill blackish-red and hood uniform dark brown in breeding plumage. In non-breeding bill tipped black and head largely white with dark ear-covert patch.

Distribution:

Common passage migrant through Gilgit-Baltistan, rare in Shigar and Ghanche districts. Usually make short stops around lakes, marshes, streams and rivers with nearby vegetation and grasslands. During passage from lowlands up to 4000m high.

Behavior:

Feeds by swimming and seizing objects from surface, or dipping head under surface; along coast, by walking on mudflats and probing for shrimps and marine worms; sometimes by foot-stirring and foot-paddling. Diet is extremely broad and opportunistic but shows a tendency towards a greater reliance on natural foods during the breeding season and on foods of anthropogenic origins in winter.

Photo Gallery:

Range & Occurrence:

Resident Species

Summer Breeder

Winter Visitor

Passage Migrant

Distribution Map of Black-headed Gull in Gilgit-Baltistan (Status: )

Seasonal Occurrence of Black-headed Gull

Resources:

Birds of Pakistan: Helm Field Guides (R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
The Birds of Pakistan (T. J. Roberts)
Birds of the Indian Subcontinent (C. Inskipp, R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide (P. Rasmussen & J. Anderton)
Birds of India: Collins Field Guide (N. Arlott)
Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan (S. Ali & S. D. Ripley)
Handbook of the Birds of the World (https://www.hbw.com)
The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, 6th Edition
iNaturalist BoGB (inaturalist.org/projects/birds-of-gilgit-baltistan)
Birds of Gilgit-Baltistan (http://fb.me/birdsgb)

*Gallery images on this page are shared from flickr.com, and are copyrighted to their respective creators or owners.