[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":265},["ShallowReactive",2],{"families_en:\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fchaykovye":3,"alt-locale:families_en:\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fchaykovye":120,"section-listing:disabled":121,"section-listing:families_en:\u002Fsemeystva":122,"related-covers:en:\u002Fsemeystva\u002Frzhankovye|\u002Fsemeystva|\u002Fopredelitel":259},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"coverImage":80,"description":81,"extension":82,"faq":83,"imagePrompt":93,"latinName":20,"meta":94,"navigation":95,"order":96,"pageType":97,"path":98,"publishedAt":99,"readingMinutes":100,"relatedLinks":101,"seo":114,"sitemap":117,"stem":118,"taxonRank":97,"updatedAt":96,"__hash__":119},"families_en\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fchaykovye.md","Gulls (Laridae)",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":72},"minimark",[9,14,22,25,29,32,39,43,65,69],[10,11,13],"h2",{"id":12},"what-makes-laridae-a-family","What makes Laridae a family",[15,16,17,21],"p",{},[18,19,20],"strong",{},"Laridae",", the gull family, comprises around 55 species of highly adaptable waterbirds found on every continent, unified by a stocky, well-muscled body built for strong and sustained flight, webbed feet for swimming and resting on open water, and a moderately long, slightly hooked bill suited to an unusually broad and opportunistic diet. Few other bird families match gulls for sheer dietary and habitat flexibility, spanning fish, aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates, and readily scavenged food of almost any kind.",[15,23,24],{},"This generalist strategy has made gulls one of the most successful bird families in human-modified landscapes, with many species thriving not only on natural coasts and wetlands but also on farmland, at refuse sites, and in urban environments, a pattern clearly reflected in both species covered so far in this atlas, each of which forages extensively well away from open coastline.",[10,26,28],{"id":27},"distinctive-traits-across-the-family","Distinctive traits across the family",[15,30,31],{},"The two species covered here highlight a common source of confusion within the family: a broadly similar white-bodied, grey-backed appearance that requires attention to finer detail for confident identification. The black-headed gull is the smaller of the two, with a distinctive dark breeding hood and a red, dark-tipped bill, while the common gull is larger, lacks any hood, and carries a plain yellow-green bill without red — differences that become straightforward with a little practice, especially when both species can be compared side by side.",[15,33,34,35,38],{},"Both species also illustrate the family's strong tendency toward ",[18,36,37],{},"colonial or highly social behavior",", breeding in dense colonies and gathering in large, often mixed-species flocks outside the breeding season, a pattern that offers some collective protection against predators and makes gull colonies and roosts among the more conspicuous and easily observed bird gatherings in their respective habitats.",[10,40,42],{"id":41},"species-in-this-family","Species in this family",[15,44,45,46,51,52,56,57,51,61,64],{},"This atlas currently covers two members of Laridae: the ",[47,48,50],"a",{"href":49},"\u002Fen\u002Fvidy-ptic\u002Fvidy\u002Fozernaya-chaika","black-headed gull"," (",[53,54,55],"em",{},"Chroicocephalus ridibundus","), Europe's most familiar small gull, easily known by its chocolate-brown breeding hood; and the ",[47,58,60],{"href":59},"\u002Fen\u002Fvidy-ptic\u002Fvidy\u002Fsizaya-chaika","common gull",[53,62,63],{},"Larus canus","), a larger, clean-headed species most often seen during spring and autumn passage across much of inland Russia and continental Europe. Further Laridae species native to the atlas's covered regions will be added to the catalogue over time.",[10,66,68],{"id":67},"where-and-when-to-watch-this-family","Where and when to watch this family",[15,70,71],{},"Lakes, rivers, reservoirs, wet farmland, and coastal areas are all productive places to look for this family, and because both species covered here include populations present well beyond the immediate breeding season, gulls can typically be found on suitable waters from spring through autumn, with the common gull in particular most conspicuous during the spring and autumn passage periods when migrating flocks pass through inland sites in greater numbers.",{"title":73,"searchDepth":74,"depth":74,"links":75},"",2,[76,77,78,79],{"id":12,"depth":74,"text":13},{"id":27,"depth":74,"text":28},{"id":41,"depth":74,"text":42},{"id":67,"depth":74,"text":68},"\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fchaykovye.png","The gull family: adaptable, highly social waterbirds ranging from the small, brown-hooded black-headed gull to the larger, plain-billed common gull, equally at home on coasts and inland waters.","md",[84,87,90],{"q":85,"a":86},"What physical traits define the gull family?","Laridae species share a stocky, well-built body, long pointed wings suited to strong, sustained flight, webbed feet for swimming and resting on water, and a moderately long, slightly hooked bill adapted to an unusually broad and opportunistic diet spanning fish, invertebrates, and scavenged food, traits that together support the family's characteristic flexibility across marine, freshwater, and human-modified habitats.",{"q":88,"a":89},"Why are so many gull species found equally at coasts and inland?","Unlike many strictly marine seabirds, gulls as a family are notably generalist in habitat use, and several species, including both covered in this atlas, breed and forage extensively on inland lakes, rivers, and farmland as well as along coasts, an adaptability rooted in their broad, opportunistic diet and strong tolerance of human-modified landscapes such as farmland, harbors, and refuse sites.",{"q":91,"a":92},"How do gull species typically differ from one another visually?","Because many gull species share a broadly similar white-and-grey body plan, identification typically relies on close attention to size, bill color and pattern, leg color, wingtip markings, and the presence or absence and color of a breeding-season head hood, differences that can be subtle but become far easier to judge with practice, particularly when two or more species are seen feeding or roosting together for direct comparison.","Photorealistic wildlife photography, a black-headed gull and a common gull standing together on a riverside mudflat, the smaller gull's chocolate-brown hood and red bill contrasting with the larger gull's clean white head and yellow-green bill, sharp focus on the black-headed gull's eye in the foreground, soft-focus background of a slow river with soft morning mist, overcast diffused daylight, shallow depth of field, telephoto lens compression, 16:9",{},true,null,"family","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fchaykovye","13.07.2026",1,[102,106,110],{"label":103,"path":104,"description":105},"Plovers and Lapwings (Charadriidae)","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Frzhankovye","Another wetland and open-ground associated family",{"label":107,"path":108,"description":109},"Bird families","\u002Fsemeystva","Species grouped by taxonomic family",{"label":111,"path":112,"description":113},"Bird identifier","\u002Fopredelitel","Identify a bird you've seen by color, size, beak shape, habitat, and season",{"title":115,"description":116},"Gulls (Laridae) — traits and species","Laridae, the gull family: adaptable, social waterbirds found on coasts, lakes, and rivers alike. Traits, feeding habits, and species covered in the atlas.",{"loc":98},"semeystva\u002Fchaykovye","7kutEBwkgW_0IIKjTWcDalmL2ErpCFT5idzBhI3zeSQ",{"ru":95,"es":95},[],[123,128,133,138,143,148,154,155,160,165,170,175,180,185,190,195,198,204,209,214,219,224,229,234,239,244,249,254],{"title":124,"description":125,"path":126,"coverImage":127,"publishedAt":99,"order":96},"Buntings (Emberizidae)","The bunting family: sturdy, seed-eating farmland and open-country songbirds represented here by the vividly yellow-headed yellowhammer, one of Europe's most familiar hedgerow singers.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fovsyankovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fovsyankovye.png",{"title":129,"description":130,"path":131,"coverImage":132,"publishedAt":99,"order":96},"Crows, Ravens, and Allies (Corvidae)","The crow family: some of the most intelligent birds on Earth, from the tiny, sociable jackdaw to the giant common raven, united by cognitive sophistication and remarkable behavioral flexibility.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fvranovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fvranovye.png",{"title":134,"description":135,"path":136,"coverImage":137,"publishedAt":99,"order":96},"Cuckoos (Cuculidae)","The cuckoo family: slender, long-tailed birds best known for the common cuckoo's remarkable brood-parasitic lifestyle, tricking other species into raising its young.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fkukushkovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fkukushkovye.png",{"title":139,"description":140,"path":141,"coverImage":142,"publishedAt":99,"order":96},"Falcons (Falconidae)","The falcon family: fast, direct-flying birds of prey with a distinctive hooked, tomial-toothed beak, found on every continent except Antarctica.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fsokolinye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fsokolinye.png",{"title":144,"description":145,"path":146,"coverImage":147,"publishedAt":99,"order":96},"Finches (Fringillidae)","The true finch family: small, seed-eating songbirds with conical beaks ranging from the everyday chaffinch to the specialized, cone-prying red crossbill.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fvjurkovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fvjurkovye.png",{"title":149,"description":150,"path":151,"coverImage":152,"publishedAt":153,"order":96},"Grebes (Podicipedidae)","The grebe family: highly specialized freshwater diving birds with lobed toes, elaborate courtship displays, and chicks that ride on their parents' backs while swimming.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fpogankovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fpogankovye.png","07.08.2026",{"title":5,"description":81,"path":98,"coverImage":80,"publishedAt":99,"order":96},{"title":156,"description":157,"path":158,"coverImage":159,"publishedAt":99,"order":96},"Hawks, Eagles, and Kites (Accipitridae)","The largest family of diurnal birds of prey, spanning soaring buzzards, forest-hunting goshawks, massive fish eagles, and scavenging kites united by a hooked beak and taloned feet.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fyastrebinye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fyastrebinye.png",{"title":161,"description":162,"path":163,"coverImage":164,"publishedAt":99,"order":96},"Herons (Ardeidae)","The heron family: patient, statuesque wetland hunters with a coiled S-shaped neck and dagger-like bill, epitomized by the grey heron's motionless watch at the water's edge.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Ftsaplevye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Ftsaplevye.png",{"title":166,"description":167,"path":168,"coverImage":169,"publishedAt":99,"order":96},"Hoopoes (Upupidae)","A small family built around a single unmistakable species, the Eurasian hoopoe, known for its fan-like crest, curved probing beak, and unusual glandular nest defenses.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fudodovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fudodovye.png",{"title":171,"description":172,"path":173,"coverImage":174,"publishedAt":99,"order":96},"Larks (Alaudidae)","The lark family: streaked, ground-nesting birds of open farmland and grassland, best known for the extraordinary sustained soaring song-flight of the Eurasian skylark.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fzhavoronkovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fzhavoronkovye.png",{"title":176,"description":177,"path":178,"coverImage":179,"publishedAt":99,"order":96},"Old World Flycatchers and Chats (Muscicapidae)","A family spanning the beloved orange-breasted robin, the vocally legendary nightingale, and the acrobatic pied flycatcher, unified more by ancestry and insect-catching habits than by appearance.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fmuholovkovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fmuholovkovye.png",{"title":181,"description":182,"path":183,"coverImage":184,"publishedAt":99,"order":96},"Old World Orioles (Oriolidae)","A family of brilliantly colored but famously shy canopy songbirds, represented in Europe by the golden oriole, a bird more often identified by its fluting song than by sight.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fivolgovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fivolgovye.png",{"title":186,"description":187,"path":188,"coverImage":189,"publishedAt":99,"order":96},"Old World Sparrows (Passeridae)","The Old World sparrow family: small, sociable, seed-eating birds closely tied to human settlement, from the familiar house sparrow to its quieter, farmland-favoring relative the tree sparrow.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fvorobyinye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fvorobyinye.png",{"title":191,"description":192,"path":193,"coverImage":194,"publishedAt":99,"order":96},"Pigeons and Doves (Columbidae)","The pigeon family: stout-bodied, small-headed birds fed on crop milk as chicks, spanning the city-adapted rock dove and wood pigeon to the increasingly rare, long-distance migrant turtle dove.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fgolubinye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fgolubinye.png",{"title":103,"description":196,"path":104,"coverImage":197,"publishedAt":99,"order":96},"The plover family: compact, large-eyed waders with short bills adapted for visual foraging, from the crested, iridescent northern lapwing to its smaller and plainer relatives.","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Frzhankovye.png",{"title":199,"description":200,"path":201,"coverImage":202,"publishedAt":203,"order":96},"Rails, Crakes, and Coots (Rallidae)","The rail family: laterally flattened marsh specialists built for slipping through dense reed beds, ranging from the secretive corncrake to the bold, aggressive Eurasian coot.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fpastushkovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fpastushkovye.png","17.08.2026",{"title":205,"description":206,"path":207,"coverImage":208,"publishedAt":99,"order":96},"Starlings (Sturnidae)","The starling family: gregarious, iridescent, highly vocal songbirds represented in Europe by the common starling and its spectacular winter murmurations.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fskvorcovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fskvorcovye.png",{"title":210,"description":211,"path":212,"coverImage":213,"publishedAt":99,"order":96},"Storks (Ciconiidae)","The stork family: massive, long-legged wading birds with long straight bills, epitomized by the white stork's huge rooftop nests and dramatic overland migration to Africa.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Faistovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Faistovye.png",{"title":215,"description":216,"path":217,"coverImage":218,"publishedAt":99,"order":96},"Swallows and Martins (Hirundinidae)","The swallow family: sleek, long-winged aerial insect-hunters that spend most of their waking lives on the wing, from the red-throated barn swallow to the white-rumped house martin.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Flastochkovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Flastochkovye.png",{"title":220,"description":221,"path":222,"coverImage":223,"publishedAt":99,"order":96},"Swifts (Apodidae)","The swift family: extreme aerial specialists that spend nearly their entire lives in flight, closer in ancestry to hummingbirds than to the swallows they superficially resemble.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fstrizhinye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fstrizhinye.png",{"title":225,"description":226,"path":227,"coverImage":228,"publishedAt":99,"order":96},"Sylvia Warblers (Sylviidae)","A family of small, plainly plumaged, densely-vegetation-loving warblers prized far more for their voices than their looks, exemplified by the richly singing Eurasian blackcap.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fslavkovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fslavkovye.png",{"title":230,"description":231,"path":232,"coverImage":233,"publishedAt":99,"order":96},"Thrushes (Turdidae)","The thrush family: medium-sized, powerful-singing ground foragers, from the glossy black common blackbird to the heavily spotted song thrush and the gregarious, flocking fieldfare.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fdrozdovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fdrozdovye.png",{"title":235,"description":236,"path":237,"coverImage":238,"publishedAt":99,"order":96},"Tits (Paridae)","The tit family: small, acrobatic, cavity-nesting songbirds from the bold, dominant great tit to the tiny, cache-obsessed coal tit, among the most familiar and intensively studied garden birds in Europe.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fsinitsevye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fsinitsevye.png",{"title":240,"description":241,"path":242,"coverImage":243,"publishedAt":99,"order":96},"Typical Owls (Strigidae)","The largest owl family, spanning the familiar tawny owl, tufted long-eared owl, and the giant Eurasian eagle-owl, united by forward-facing eyes, silent flight, and mostly nocturnal habits.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fsovinye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fsovinye.png",{"title":245,"description":246,"path":247,"coverImage":248,"publishedAt":99,"order":96},"Wagtails and Pipits (Motacillidae)","A family of slender, long-tailed, ground-foraging songbirds best exemplified by the constantly tail-bobbing white wagtail, equally at home beside a river or in a busy town square.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Ftryasoguzkovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Ftryasoguzkovye.png",{"title":250,"description":251,"path":252,"coverImage":253,"publishedAt":99,"order":96},"Waterfowl (Anatidae)","The waterfowl family: ducks, geese, and swans, unified by webbed feet, waterproof plumage, and a broad flattened bill, from the familiar mallard to the massive mute swan.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Futinye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Futinye.png",{"title":255,"description":256,"path":257,"coverImage":258,"publishedAt":99,"order":96},"Woodpeckers (Picidae)","The woodpecker family: powerful, tree-climbing excavators built to hammer into wood, from the widespread black-and-white great spotted woodpecker to the crow-sized black woodpecker.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fdyatlovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fdyatlovye.png",[260,261,263],{"label":103,"path":104,"description":105,"coverImage":197},{"label":107,"path":108,"description":109,"coverImage":262},"\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Findex.png",{"label":111,"path":112,"description":113,"coverImage":264},"\u002Fimages\u002Fopredelitel\u002Findex.png",1787114560036]