Chroicocephalus ridibundus
A small, agile gull often seen well away from the sea.
Size: 35-39 cm | Habitat: Pond & Lake Birds | Season: All year
Despite the name, the black-headed gull actually has a chocolate-brown hood in summer, fading to just a dark spot behind the eye in winter. It's the gull most often seen inland, on parks, ponds, and playing fields.
White body, pale grey wings · chocolate-brown hood (summer) or white head with dark ear spot (winter) · red bill and legs · white leading wing edge in flight
Black-headed gulls are agile and opportunistic, often following ploughs for insects or gathering on park lawns and lakes, sometimes far from any coast.
Despite the name, a black-headed gull's hood is actually dark chocolate-brown, not black — and it disappears completely for winter.
The Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) is one of Britain's most widespread small gulls. In summer it has a chocolate-brown head, red bill, and red legs; in winter the head turns white with a single dark ear-spot. Its flight is buoyant and agile, often accompanied by sharp, laughing calls.
These gulls thrive on lakes, reservoirs, marshes, farmland, and coastlines. They feed on insects, worms, fish, and scraps, adapting easily to human-shaped landscapes. Their colonies in summer are noisy, bustling places full of activity.
Understanding the Black-headed Gull reveals how adaptability, seasonal plumage, and opportunistic feeding shape the lives of one of Britain's most familiar wetland birds.
🟠 Conservation status: Amber (UK Birds of Conservation Concern 5)
Amber-listed. Breeding colonies are vulnerable to disturbance, flooding, and predation, and outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (bird flu) caused significant losses at gull colonies across the UK and Europe in 2022–2023. Giving nesting colonies a wide, quiet berth during the breeding season is one of the simplest ways the public can help.