Bonaparte's gull

Bonaparte's gull is a member of the gull family Laridae found mainly in northern North America. At 28 to 38 cm in length, it is one of the smallest species of gull. Its plumage is mainly white with grey upperparts. During breeding season, Bonaparte's gull gains a slaty-black hood. The sexes are similar in appearance.

Loading map...

Distribution

Region

North America

Typical Environment

Breeds across boreal Canada and Alaska, typically around forested lakes, bogs, and slow-moving rivers. In winter it moves to coastal North America, from the Pacific Northwest and California to the Atlantic seaboard and Gulf of Mexico. It also uses large inland lakes and rivers during migration. Occasional vagrants reach Europe and East Asia. Frequently seen around harbors, estuaries, and river mouths, especially where currents concentrate food.

Altitude Range

Sea level to 1500 m

Climate Zone

Temperate

Characteristics

Size28–38 cm

Wing Span76–84 cm

Male Weight0.22 kg

Female Weight0.2 kg

Life Expectancy12 years

Ease of Keeping

Beginner friendly: 1/5

Useful to know

One of the smallest gulls, it has a delicate, tern-like flight and often feeds by picking insects off the water’s surface. Unusually for a gull, it nests in trees within boreal forests. In breeding plumage it shows a slaty-black hood; in winter this is replaced by a neat black ear-spot. The species is named after the ornithologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte.

Gallery

Bonaparte's gull in immature (first-winter) plumage, showing the tail band and brown wing pattern cited in Ord's description of the species

Bonaparte's gull in fresh juvenile plumage; Whitehorse, Yukon

A Bonaparte's Gull eats a sandworm in the Saco Bay, ME.

Once they leave the nest, chicks follow their parents to the nearest water.

Bonaparte's gull nesting at the top of a black spruce in Churchill, Manitoba

Behaviour

Temperament

social and active

Flight Pattern

buoyant, tern-like flight with quick, agile wingbeats and hovering

Social Behavior

Often forms flocks during migration and winter, frequently mixing with other small gulls and terns. Breeds colonially, unusually nesting in conifer trees over water; pairs are seasonally monogamous and both sexes tend the nest. Courtship includes aerial chases and ritualized calls and postures.

Migratory Pattern

Seasonal migrant

Song Description

Voice is high-pitched and thin, with sharp kik and klee-eek notes reminiscent of a small tern. Calls are frequent over breeding colonies and softer, squeaky contact calls are used while foraging.

Unlock detailed bird insights with Pro access today.

Identification

Comb Type

Plumage Description

Feather Color

Leg Color

Earlobe Color

Eye Color

Feeding Habits

Diet

Preferred Environment

Requires Supplement

Population

Conservation Status

Species Status

Wild Population

Total Known Population

Bonelli's eagle

Bonelli's eagle is a large bird of prey. The common name of the bird commemorates the Italian ornithologist and collector Franco Andrea Bonelli. Bonelli is credited with gathering the type specimen, most likely from an exploration of Sardinia. Like all eagles, Bonelli's eagle belongs to the family Accipitridae. Its feathered legs marked it as member of the Aquilinae or booted eagle subfamily. This species breeds from southern Europe, Africa on the montane perimeter of the Sahara Desert, and across the Indian Subcontinent to Indonesia. In Eurasia, this species may be found as far west as Portugal and as far east as southeastern China and Thailand. It is usually a resident breeder.

Bonin greenfinch

The Bonin greenfinch, also known as the Ogasawara greenfinch, is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae that is endemic to the Ogasawara Islands of Japan, where it is found on the Bonin Islands and Volcano Islands. It was formerly considered a subspecies of the grey-capped greenfinch and some authorities consider it as such, but a 2020 analysis found it likely to represent a distinct species that diverged from C. sinica about 1.06 million years ago, and the International Ornithological Congress now recognizes it as such, making it the eleventh endemic species in Japan. There are fewer than 400 individuals in the population and it is considered critically endangered by the Japanese government, necessitating protection. According to the Yamashina Institute for Ornithology, as of December 2021, the Ogaswara greenfinch is Japan's most endangered bird.

Bonin grosbeak

The Bonin grosbeak or Bonin Islands grosbeak is an extinct finch. It is one of the diverse bird taxa that are vernacularly called "grosbeaks", but it is not closely related to the grosbeaks sensu stricto. Many authorities place the species in the genus Carpodacus, but some place it in its own genus, Chaunoproctus. A 2013 genetic analysis found it to be a relatively basal member of the group, more derived than the common rosefinch, but with no close relatives, with an estimated divergence time from other members of the group around 12.5 million years ago.