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PLEASE! If you see any mistakes, I'm 100% sure that I have wrongly identified some birds.
So please let me know on my guestbook at the bottom of the page
So please let me know on my guestbook at the bottom of the page
  The Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus), called Skrattmås in Skåne, is a small gull that breeds in much of Europe and Asia, and also in coastal eastern Canada. Most of the population is migratory and winters further south, but some birds reside in the milder westernmost areas of Europe. Some Black-headed Gulls also spend the winter in northeastern North America, where it was formerly known as the common Black-headed Gull. As is the case with many gulls, it was previously placed in the genus Larus. The genus name Chroicocephalus is from Ancient Greek khroizo, "to colour", and kephale, "head". The specific ridibundus is Latin for "laughing", from ridere "to laugh". Distribution To be found over much of Europe, except Spain, Italy and Greece, also Japan and E China. It is an occasional visitor to the east coast of North America.   Range map from www.oiseaux.net - Ornithological Portal Oiseaux.net
www.oiseaux.net is one of those MUST visit pages if you're in to bird watching. You can find just about everything there
Description This gull is 38–44 cm long with a 94–105 cm wingspan. In flight, the white leading edge to the wing is a good field mark. The summer adult has a chocolate-brown head (not black, although does look black from a distance), pale grey body, black tips to the primary wing feathers, and red bill and legs. The hood is lost in winter, leaving just 2 dark spots. Juveniles have orange bill and orange legs
 1st Winter and Adult in breeding plumage
Helsingborg, Sweden - February 2021
 1st Winter and Adult in breeding plumage
Helsingborg, Sweden - February 2021
 Brown Headed Gull vs Black Headed Gull - Click HERE for bigger picture
Picture from photography & birds and excellent page well worth a visit
Immature birds have a mottled pattern of brown spots over most of the body. It breeds in colonies in large reed beds 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. Nest building
Lake Hornborga /Hornborgasjön - April 2019
 Adult with building material
Lake Hornborga /Hornborgasjön - April 2019
 Adult with building material
Lake Hornborga /Hornborgasjön - April 2019
 Adult with building material
Lake Hornborga /Hornborgasjön - April 2019
The Black-headed Gull is a bold and opportunistic feeder. It eats insects, fish, seeds, worms, scraps, and carrion in towns, or invertebrates in ploughed fields with equal relish. It is a noisy species, especially in colonies, with a familiar "kree-ar" call. Its scientific name means laughing gull. This species 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 fully developed dark hood. Like most gulls, Black-headed Gulls are long-lived birds, with a maximum age of at least 32.9 years recorded in the wild, in addition to an anecdote now believed of dubious authenticity regarding a 63-year-old bird.  Adult in breeding plumage and two babies
Haparanda, Sweden - July 2018
 Baby
Haparanda, Sweden - July 2018
 Baby
Haparanda, Sweden - July 2018
 Juvenile
Haparanda, Sweden - July 2018
 A very young baby
Haparanda, Sweden - July 2018
 Juvenile
Holiday Inn Ellesmere Port, United Kingdom - August 2018
 Adult moulting in to winter plumage
Hoylake, United Kingdom - August 2018
 Adult in winter plumage - Darvic Ring AD358
And we can see that the bird is not yet in full winter (non breeding) plumage Kiel Canal, Germany - August 2018
From the darvic ring AD358 we get the following information about the bird
 Uses The eggs of the Black-headed Gull are considered a delicacy by some in the UK and are eaten hard boiled.  Eggs, Collection Museum Wiesbaden, Germany
By Klaus Rassinger und Gerhard Cammerer, Museum Wiesbaden - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37436688 Preening and resting from the nest building
Lake Hornborga /Hornborgasjön - April 2019
Listen to the Black-headed Gull
Sound from www.xeno-canto.org
 Conservation status
 Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. 2012: e.T22694420A38851158. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  Sighted: (Date of first photo that I could use) 9 December 2016 Location: River Ganges, Varanasi  Black-headed Gull / Chroicocephalus ridibundus
9 December 2016 - River Ganges, Varanasi  Black-headed Gull / Chroicocephalus ridibundus
9 December 2016 - River Ganges, Varanasi  Black-headed Gull / Chroicocephalus ridibundus
9 December 2016 - River Ganges, Varanasi  Black-headed Gull / Chroicocephalus ridibundus
9 December 2016 - River Ganges, Varanasi  Black-headed Gull / Chroicocephalus ridibundus
9 December 2016 - River Ganges, Varanasi  Black-headed Gull / Chroicocephalus ridibundus
9 December 2016 - River Ganges, Varanasi  Black-headed Gull / Chroicocephalus ridibundus - 9 December 2016 - River Ganges, Varanasi
 Black-headed Gull / Chroicocephalus ridibundus
9 December 2016 - River Ganges, Varanasi  Black-headed Gull / Chroicocephalus ridibundus
9 December 2016 - River Ganges, Varanasi PLEASE! If I have made any mistakes identifying any bird, PLEASE let me know on my guestbook 
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