Superfamily Laroidea
Family GLAREOLIDAE:
Subfamily DROMADINAE:
Dromas ardeola CRAB PLOVER.  Rocky and sandy seacoasts, estuaries, coral reefs.  Africa and s Asia along coasts of the Red Sea and e Africa in Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Socotra I., Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique and S. Africa.  Madagascar, Seychelles, Aldabra and Comores and e through the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea region to Pakistan; off Sri Lanka on Adam's Bridge; Andaman and Nicobar islands.
Subfamily GLAREOLINAE:
Pluvianus aegyptius  CROCODILE-BIRD.  Sandy river banks.  S Mauritania, s Mali, Senegambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, s Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Congo, C. Afr. Rep., s Chad, Sudan, e to the Nile R. Basin of Egypt (at least formerly), w Ethiopia and Eritrea, s to nw Angola, sw,sc,ne Zaire and nw Uganda.
Rhinoptilus africanus  DOUBLE-BANDED COURSER.  Arid open country.  Ethiopia and Somalia s through Kenya to Tanzania, sw Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and S. Africa e to w Transvaal, Lesotho and e Cape Province.
Rhinoptilus chalcopterus  BRONZE-WINGED COURSER.  Open woods.  S Mauritania, s Mali, Senegambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Benin, s Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, C. Afr. Rep., s Chad, s,se Sudan, ne Ethiopia, Eritrea, s (exc. forested w,c) in Zaire, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and n,e S. Africa in Transvaal, Natal and e Cape Province.

Rhinoptilus cinctus  THREE-BANDED COURSER.  Semi-desert, thorn scrub.  In Ethiopia and Somalia s through Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia to Zimbabwe and extreme ne S. Africa in ne Transvaal, w through n,e Botswana to s Angola and n Namibia.
Rhinoptilus bitorquatus  JERDON'S COURSER.  Rocky uneven ground with thin forest and scrub jungle.  Se India in Andhra Pradesh in valleys of the Godavari River and Penner River.  Thought extinct, last specimen 1871, observed in 1900, but rediscovered in Andhra Pradesh in 1985.
Cursorius cursor  CREAM-COLORED COURSER.  Desert, open country.  N Africa (exc. from n Morocco to n Tunisia) incl. Canary and Cape Verde is. and Sinai Pen. of Egypt, s to subSaharan region in Mauritania, Senegambia, c Sudan, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, Socotra I., possibly Kenya, Yemen and e through Near East, Arabia, Iraq, c,e Iran and Turkmenia to (probably) Afghanistan.

Cursorius somalensis  SOMALI COURSER.  New Species.  Pearson and Ash, in press.  Desert, open country.  E Ethiopia, Somalia and n Kenya.  Includes the Afrotropical races somalensis and littoralis, formerly included in C. cursor.
Cursorius rufus  BURCHELL'S COURSER.  Desert, open country.  Sw Angola, Namibia, s Botswana and S. Africa in w,n,s Cape Province, w Transvaal and Orange Free State.  Sometimes included in C. cursor.
Cursorius temminckii  TEMMINCK'S COURSER.  Desert, open country.  In s Mauritania, s Mali, Senegambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, s Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Congo, C. Afr. Rep., Zaire, Chad, se Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, s (exc. forested w,c) in Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Angola and Namibia to s S. Africa.

Cursorius coromandelicus  INDIAN COURSER.  Desert, open country, farms.  Lowlands to 300 m in Pakistan and India n to base of Himalayas, e to W. Bengal; Sri Lanka.
Glareola pratincola  COLLARED PRATINCOLE.  Open barren areas; sparse grassland.  From the Iberian Peninsula, s France, Italy, Hungary and Romania s to Sicily, Cyprus and n Africa from n Morocco to n,c Tunisia and n Egypt, e through n Black Sea area, nw Caspian Sea area, Transcaucasus and from Transcaspia e to Turkestan, w Arabia, Iraq and Iran to Afghanistan and Pakistan in Sind.  Locally in sw Mauritania, s Mali, Senegambia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Congo, Chad, Sudan, Ethiopia and s (exc. forested w) to Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, n,e Zimbabwe, Angola, ne Namibia (Caprivi), n Botswana and e S. Africa in e Transvaal and n Natal.

Glareola maldivarum  ORIENTAL PRATINCOLE.  Mudflats, burned-over grassland, river banks.  From Sc Siberia in se Transbaicalia, Mongolia and c,e China, Inner Mongolia to s Heilungkiang s to Hainan and Fukien, s locally through se Asia (exc. ne,sw Thailand and c,s Laos), India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan in Sind, to Andaman Is. and Luzon I. in the n Philippines.  Occurs in the Seychelles but no firm breeding record.  Sometimes included in G. pratincola.
Glareola nordmanni  BLACK-WINGED PRATINCOLE.  Open steppe, dry flats, edges of salt lakes, river valleys.  From Hungary and Romania e through n Iraq and Ukraine, n Caspian Sea area and n Caucasus to Kirghiz steppes and sw Siberia in the Altai.  Sometimes included in G. pratincola.

Glareola ocularis  MADAGASCAR PRATINCOLE.  Lakes, rivers, grassland, sandspits, rocky islets in watercourses or near seacoast.  Lowlands to 1500 m of Madagascar.  Recorded as a migrant in Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania and the Mascarene Is.
Glareola nuchalis  ROCK PRATINCOLE.  Rocky rivers.  S Mali, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, s Niger, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, w,s Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Zaire, C. Afr. Rep., Lake Chad e to Sudan, w Ethiopia and Uganda, w Kenya, w Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, s to sc Angola, ne Namibia, n Botswana, n,e Zimbabwe and w Mozambique.
Glareola cinerea  GREY PRATINCOLE.  Sluggish rivers, sandy banks.  S Mali on the upper Niger River, Burkina Faso on the Volta R., Niger, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, C. Afr. Rep., e to Lake Chad, s to Cabinda, n Angola and in the Congo basin to sw,sc,nc Zaire.

Glareola lactea  SMALL PRATINCOLE.  Sandy river banks.  Lowlands in e Afghanistan, Pakistan in Sind, India n to Himalayan foothills, Sri Lanka and Burma.
Stiltia isabella  AUSTRALIAN PRATINCOLE.  Open plains, pastures, fields, bare margins of swamps.  S New Guinea and n,c, interior Australia s coastally to c W. Australia in the Roebourne-Onslow area, and s Queensland near Townsville, Heron I., and inland to c S. Australia and nw Victoria.

Family LARIDAE:
Subfamily LARINAE:
Tribe STERCORARIINI:
Stercorarius longicaudus  LONG-TAILED JAEGER.  Tundra, flats with sparse vegetation, moors; pelagic in winter.  From Greenland, Spitsbergen and n Scandinavia e across n Russia, Novaya Zemlya and n Siberia to Chukotski Pen., s to Kamchatka and Sea of Okhotsk.  W,n Alaska s to Hooper Bay, incl. St. Matthew, St. Lawrence and Nunivak islands, n Yukon, n Mackenzie, n Keewatin and through Canadian Arctic islands s to c interior mts. of Alaska, sw Yukon, s Keewatin, Southampton I. and n Quebec.
Stercorarius parasiticus  PARASITIC JAEGER.  Coastal tundra; pelagic and coastal in winter.  From Greenland, Iceland, Faroe Is., n British Isles, Jan Mayen, Spitsbergen, Bear I., Franz Josef Land and n Scandinavia e across n Russia, Novaya Zemlya and n Siberia to Chukotski Pen., and s to Commander Is., Kamchatka and Sea of Okhotsk.  From w,n Alaska, nw Mackenzie and Banks, s Melville, Cornwallis, s Ellesmere and Baffin islands, s to Aleutians, Alaska Pen., Kodiak I., c Mackenzie, s Keewatin, ne Manitoba, Southampton I., n Ontario on Cape Henrietta Maria, n Quebec and n Labrador.

Stercorarius pomarinus  POMARINE JAEGER.  Tundra, grassy coastal flats; pelagic in winter.  W Greenland; and n Russia incl. Novaya Zemlya and n Siberia from Taimyr Pen. to Chukotski Pen. and Anadyrland.  From w,n Alaska s to Hooper Bay, e across Canadian Arctic islands n to Melville, Bathurst and Devon is., Baffin I., s to ne Mackenzie, Southampton I. and nw Quebec.  S. pomarinus and S. skua are probably conspecific.
Stercorarius skua  GREAT SKUA.  Rocky seacoasts, moors, sandy estuaries.  In Iceland, Spitsbergen, and Faroe, Shetland, Orkney and Bear islands.  Ranges at sea in the n Atlantic s to n S. America, Mediterranean region and nw Africa.
Stercorarius maccormicki  SOUTH POLAR SKUA.  Rocky seacoasts, cliffs.  Seacoasts and mts. of Antarctica and the S. Shetland Is.  Ranges at sea to Alaska, Greenland and the Indian Ocean.  On the South Shetland Is. the breeding areas of maccormicki and lonnbergi overlap and ca. 10% of pairs are mixed or hybrids.

Stercorarius chilensis  CHILEAN SKUA.  Seacoasts.  Coasts and islands of s Chile from Arauco to Cape Horn.  Ranges at sea n along both coasts of S. America to the tropics.
Stercorarius antarctica  SOUTHERN SKUA.  Seacoasts.  Falkland, Gough, Inaccessible and Tristan da Cunha islands; coast of s Argentina from Chubut to Tierra del Fuego. The Argentina population may be chilensis rather than antarctica.  Ranges at sea to Antarctica and n to S. Africa, New Zealand and Brazil.

S. antarctica is often included in S. lonnbergi or S. skua, but is as genetically distinct as are the other southern skuas.  S. a. hamiltoni, the population that breeds on Tristan da Cunha, is probably a distinct species.

Stercorarius lonnbergi  BROWN SKUA.  Seacoasts.  Islands in s oceans on Bouvet, Prince Edward, Marion, Crozet, Kerguelen, Heard, Macquarie, Auckland, Campbell, Snares, Bounty, Antipodes, Chatham, S. Georgia, S. Sandwich, S. Orkney and S. Shetland; Antarctic Peninsula s to lat. 65°S; s coast of s New Zealand in Fiordland and Stewart Island.  Ranges at sea to tropical oceans and in the Atlantic at least to the Lesser Antilles.

Tribe RYNCHOPINI:
Rynchops niger  BLACK SKIMMER.  Sandy beaches, coastal islands, tropical rivers.  Mostly along coasts from s Calif. near San Diego; Sonora and Massachusetts s to Oaxaca, Tabasco, possibly Yucatán Pen. and s Florida; S. America along Pacific coast of Colombia and w Ecuador; Atlantic coast and rivers from Venezuela s to n Argentina; possible vagrant on Andean lakes in Bolivia.
Rynchops flavirostris  AFRICAN SKIMMER.  Seacoasts, lakes, rivers.  Senegambia e to Sudan, Egypt n to the Nile delta, Ethiopia and Somalia, s to n Namibia, n Botswana, Zambesi River, e Mozambique and e S. Africa in Natal.  Breeding records for Senegambia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Mali, Niger, Chad, Sudan, Ethiopia, Gabon, Burundi, Uganda, Kenya, Angola, Zambia, Malawi, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe.
Rynchops albicollis  INDIAN SKIMMER.  Large rivers, seacoasts, lakes.  Pakistan, n,c India s to Andhra Pradesh, Burma exc. Tenasserim, Cambodia and s Laos.

Tribe LARINI:
Larus scoresbii  DOLPHIN GULL.  Seacoasts.  From s Chile n to Isla Chiloé and s Llanquihue, and s Argentina n to Chubut, s to Tierra del Fuego and islands of Cape Horn region; Falkland Is.
Larus pacificus  PACIFIC GULL.  Seacoasts.  Coasts and islands of s Australia from sw W. Australia n to Shark Bay, e to s New S. Wales n to Hunter River; Tasmania.
Larus belcheri  BAND-TAILED GULL.  Seacoasts.  Pacific coasts and islands in Peru and n Chile to Arica.
Larus atlanticus  OLROG'S GULL.  Seacoasts.  Atlantic coast of ne Argentina in s Buenos Aires, probably Chubut and presumably elsewhere.  Described as a race of L. belcheri, differs in plumage and eyering color.

Larus crassirostris  BLACK-TAILED GULL.  Rocky and sandy seacoasts.  E Siberia in Ussuriland and Sakhalin, Kuril Is., Korea, e China in Shantung and Fukien, and Japan s to Honshu.
Larus modestus  GREY GULL.  Breeds in interior deserts; winters on seacoasts.  Interior Pacific lowlands of Peru and n Chile in Tarapacá and Antofagasta.
Larus heermanni  HEERMANN'S GULL.  Flat rocky islets or coasts.  Nests rarely off c,s California, recorded on Alcatraz I. and Shell Beach in San Luis Obispo County; Benito del Centro and San Roque islets off Pacific coast of Baja Calif.; islands in the Gulf of Calif. on George, Raza (large colony), Salsipuedes, Ildefonso and Montserrat; off w Mexico from Sonora s to Sinaloa and I. Isabela.  Spreads along coasts in winter extending n to British Columbia and s to Guatemala.

Larus leucophthalmus  WHITE-EYED GULL.  Seacoasts.  Coasts and islands of the Red Sea in Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Socotra I., Yemen and, at least formerly, the Gulf of Aden.
Larus hemprichii  SOOTY GULL.  Seacoasts.  Breeds on coasts and islands from the Red Sea in Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Socotra I., Madagascar and the Mascarene Is.  Occurs as migrants or vagrants along other coasts of e Africa incl. Tanzania, Zanzibar and Pemba.  Breeds e along coasts of Arabia, Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman to Pakistan.
Larus canus  MEW GULL.  Seacoasts, lakes, rivers, beaches, bays, mudflats.

The east Siberian race, kamtschatschensis, has been treated as a separate species but intergrades with canus in the Lena River region in western Siberia.  The American race, brachyrhynchus, is more distinctive, abruptly reversing a cline in size while accentuating a color saturation.
 L. c. canus.  From Iceland, Faroe Is., British Isles and Scandinavia e across n Russia s of open tundra to c Siberia e to Lena River, and n Europe s to n France, Switzerland, Austria and Poland to c Russia and se to n Kazakhstan and Kirghiz steppes, n Mongolia and s Siberia e to Lake Baikal and Transbaicalia.
 L. c. kamtschatschensis.  Ne Siberia from Lena R. e to Anadyrland and Koryakland, s to Sakhalin, Kamchatka and Kuril Is.

L. c. brachyrhynchus.  From w,c Alaska at Kotzebue Sound and Brooks Range, c Yukon, and nw,s Mackenzie s to s Alaska w to Alaska Pen., coastal British Columbia to Vancouver I., s Yukon, n Alberta, c Saskatchewan and ne Manitoba.

Larus delawarensis  RING-BILLED GULL.  Seacoasts, bays, rivers, lakes, ponds, fields.  From s interior British Columbia, w,c Washington, ne Alberta, nw,c Saskatchewan and nc Manitoba s to c Calif., Nevada, sc Colorado, se Wyoming and ne S. Dakota; from nc Ontario, s Quebec, Prince Edward I., s Labrador and ne Newfoundland s to e Wisconsin, n Illinois, n Michigan, s Ontario, n Ohio, n New York, c New Hampshire and New Brunswick.
Larus audouinii  AUDOUIN'S GULL.  Rocky and sandy seacoasts on islands.  Islands in the Mediterranean Sea off coasts of Spain, Italy, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Corsica and Sardinia, the Balearic Is., Cyclades, Aegean Sea and Cyprus.
Larus californicus  CALIFORNIA GULL.  Lakes, ponds.  Coastal sc Alaska; from s interior British Columbia, s Mackenzie, e Alberta, Saskatchewan and sw Manitoba s to c Calif., w Nevada, n Utah, nc Colorado, ne S. Dakota and ec N. Dakota.

Larus marinus  GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL.  Seacoasts, lakes.  From Greenland, Iceland, Faroe Is., Shetlands, Spitsbergen, Bear I., n Scandinavia and n Russia e to Kanin Pen., s to British Isles, nw France, n Denmark, n Germany and Estonia.  Along Atlantic coast from w,n Quebec, n Labrador and Newfoundland s to St. Lawrence River, Anticosti I., and coastal N. Carolina; Lake Huron in s Ontario.
Larus dominicanus  KELP GULL.  Seacoasts, bays, rivers; lakes in S. America.  Coasts from nw Peru and se Brazil s to Tierra del Fuego; mt. lakes of Argentina from Río Negro to Santa Cruz.  Coasts of Africa in s,c Namibia (e.g., Walvis Bay), Angola, Senegambia; S. Africa to Durban in Natal; Mozambique; sw,s Madagascar.  Coasts of sw W. Australia and from S. Australia e to c New S. Wales; Tasmania.  Coasts and mts. of New Zealand and adj. islands.  Islands in s oceans: Falklands, S. Georgia, S. Sandwich, S. Orkney, S. Shetland, Bouvet, Prince Edward, Marion, Crozet, Kerguelen, Heard, Macquarie, Campbell, Auckland, Snares, Antipodes, Bounty and Chatham islands; Antarctic Peninsula s to lat. 68°S.

Larus glaucescens  GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL.  Seacoasts.  From s Bering Sea, incl. Commander, Aleutian and Pribilof is., and s,se Alaska s to e Washington and nw Oregon.  Hybridizes with occidentalis in overlap area and the two may be conspecific.
Larus occidentalis  WESTERN GULL.  Rocky coasts, cliffs.  Coastally from sw British Columbia s to wc Baja Calif. on Isla Asunción and Guadalupe Island.
Larus livens  YELLOW-FOOTED GULL.  Seacoasts on islands.  Islands in the Gulf of California from George I. and Consag Rock s to Espírito Santo and San Pedro Nolasco is.  Originally described as a subspecies of L. occidentalis, but differs in plumage, soft parts and breeding biology.

Larus hyperboreus  GLAUCOUS GULL.  Seacoasts, lakes.  From n Greenland, Iceland, Jan Mayen, Spitsbergen, Bear I. and Franz Josef Land e across n Russia and n Siberia incl. Novaya Zemlya, Severnaya Zemlya and New Siberian Is. to Anadyrland.  From w,n Alaska s to Hooper Bay, incl. St. Matthew, Hall and Prifilof is., e across Arctic coasts and islands to Banks, Prince Patrick, Ellef Ringnes and n Ellesmere is., and n Labrador, s to Southampton, Coats, Belcher and s Baffin islands.
Larus glaucoides  ICELAND GULL.  Seacoasts, bays, lakes.  Nests on cliffs.

L. g. glaucoides.  Greenland and formerly Jan Mayen.
 L. g. kumlieni.  Nw Quebec in Hudson Bay area and s Baffin Island.
 L. g. thayeri.  From Banks, s Melville, Bathurst, Axel Heiberg and c Ellesmere islands s to s Victoria I., n Keewatin and n Southampton, Coats and nw Baffin Island.
 L. g. kumlieni is intermediate between glaucoides and thayeri; these three form a continuum of breeding populations, although questions remain.  For example, kumlieni and thayeri may comprise a separate species more closely related to argentatus than to glaucoides.

Larus argentatus  HERRING GULL.  Seacoasts, bays, lakes, rivers.  Nests on flat areas.

L. a. argentatus.  From Iceland, Faroe Is., British Isles, Bear I., Scandinavia and n Europe e across n Russia and nw Siberia to Kanin Pen. and from n Alaska, n Yukon, n Mackenzie, c Keewatin, Southampton and w Baffin is., n Quebec and n Labrador s to sw,s,se Alaska, sc British Columbia, c Alberta, c Saskatchewan, e Wyoming (probably), s Manitoba, n Minnesota, n Wisconsin, ne Illinois, nw Indiana, c Michigan, n Ohio, n New York and Atlantic states s to ne S. Carolina; isolated breeding in s Texas and s Alabama.
 L. a. heuglini.  N Russia and nw Siberia from Kanin Pen. e to w Taimyr Pen.  May be a separate species.  See below.
 L. a. vegae.  N Siberia from e Taimyr Pen. e to Chukotski Pen., Anadyrland and Koryakland.
 Status of heuglini and vegae uncertain.  They interbreed with each other and with argentatus; they are sometimes considered conspecific as a single species (heuglini) separate from argentatus.  L. heuglini is also sometimes lumped with L. fuscus.

L. a. omissus.  E Baltic, Estonia, Finland and nw Russia.
 The relationships among the members of the argentatus group are complex, unclear and controversial.  Classifications have varied from including all forms in a single species to treating almost every race as a separate species.  Filchagov (1994. J. für Orn. 135:44) reported that gene exchange occurs between L. f. fuscus and L. heuglini or between hybrids similar to heuglini and Yellow-legged Gulls with light upperparts (supposedly L. cachinnans) in some colonies in the basin of the Middle and Upper Volga River.  L. f. fuscus, L. a. argentatus and L. a. heuglini are sympatric and reproductively isolated on and around the White Sea.  Additional details in Filchagov, et al. 1992. Zool. Zhurnal 71:148-152.

Mierauskas, et al. (1994.  J. für Orn. 135:47) reported on the Herring Gull populations in the Eastern Baltics.  Morphometrics and vocalizations suggest that coastal yellow-legged gulls are closer to L. a. argentatus than to L. cachinnans.  Yellow-legged inland breeders sympatric with pink-legged forms differ from argentatus.  Partial interbreeding between these two forms make it difficult to recognize inland birds as a separate subspecies, omissus.  The coastal and inland forms differ in their origins and settlement in the Eastern Baltics.  See Mierauskas et al. (1991. Acta Ornith. Lihanica 4:3-26).

Larus schistisagus  SLATY-BACKED GULL.  Rocky seacoasts.  Ne Siberia from Koryakland and Kamchatka s to Shantar Is., Sakhalin and Kuril is., and n Japan on Hokkaido.  Hybridizes with L. a. vegae where ranges meet.
Larus cachinnans  YELLOW-LEGGED GULL.  Seacoasts, bays, lakes, rivers.

L. c. atlantis.  E Atlantic islands on the Azores, Madeira, Canary and possibly Cape Verde islands; perhaps also the Iberian Peninsula.  May be a separate species.
 L. c. cachinnans.  Atlantic coast of w France and from s Europe and n Africa w to Morocco and Mauritania, e locally through Mediterranean region, Turkey, nw Iran and the Black Sea and Caspian Sea region to Aral Sea, Kazakhstan, Turkestan, Altai, to sw Siberia to Lake Baikal region and Transbaicalia, n Mongolia and nw,ne China in nw Sinking and w Heilungkiang.
 Often considered conspecific with argentatus, but cachinnans differs in soft part colors, vocalizations and displays; there is a 250 km overlap in their breeding ranges along the coast of France and they have been reported to breed sympatrically.  Relationships of cachinnans may be with L. fuscus rather than with argentatus and atlantis may be a separate species; the relationships of the Iberian Pen. populations are uncertain, but tentatively assigned to atlantis - which may be a separate species.

Wink, et al. (1994. J. für Orn. 135:73-80) sequenced 300 base pairs of the cytochrome b mtDNA gene in L. argentatus, fuscus and cachinnans.  They found a 2% difference between argentatus and cachinnans and evidence that cachinnans is closer to fuscus than to argentatus.  They found little evidence of gene flow among the three species and supported the recognition of cachinnans as a separate species.  A later study (Heidrich, et al. 1995. J. für Orn. 136: in press) based on 855 bases confirmed these results.

Larus armenicus  ARMENIAN GULL.  Lakes.  Armenia and adjacent e Turkey.  Formerly included in L. cachinnans, but differs in plumage and soft part coloration.
Larus fuscus  LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL.  Seacoasts, bays, lakes, rivers.

Often considered related to, or conspecific with, argentatus, but they are widely sympatric with little interbreeding which usually occurs in areas where sex ratios are unbalanced.  There is a pronounced north-south cline in the intensity of mantle color.
 L. f. graellsi.  Iceland, Faroe Is., British Isles and w Europe from Iberian Pen. and France e to w Germany.
 L. f. fuscus.  From n Scandinavia, n Russia and nw Siberia e to Taimyr Pen., and s to coasts of North and Baltic seas w to Denmark.

Larus ichthyaetus  GREAT BLACK-HEADED GULL or PALLAS'S GULL.  Shores and islands of inland seas and salt lakes.  Crimea, coast of Caspian Sea, Aral Sea, Kirghiz steppes, se Altai, Pamir Mts., nw Mongolia and n China.
Larus brunnicephalus  BROWN-HEADED GULL.  Lakes.  Mts., 3500-5000 m in the Pamir Mts. of sc Asia, Tibet, w,nc China and nw India on Lake Ladakh in Kashmir.
Larus cirrocephalus  GREY-HEADED GULL.  Seacoasts, rivers, lakes.  Sw Mauritania, Senegambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Benin, Niger, Nigeria, Lake Chad, e African lakes in Sudan, Ethiopia, and in Angola, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, locally to s S. Africa, exc. Congo basin.  Madagascar.  Pacific coast of Peru; from Paraguay and s Brazil s to Uruguay and ne Argentina to s Buenos Aires.

Larus hartlaubii  KING GULL.  Seacoasts and islands in cold water upwelling areas.  Coasts of sw Africa from se Namibia s to sw S. Africa to Cape Agulhas.  Often included in L. novaehollandiae.
Larus novaehollandiae  SILVER GULL.  Coasts, islands, large lakes.  Australia; Tasmania and New Caledonia.
Larus scopulinus  RED-BILLED GULL.  Coasts, islands, large lakes.  New Zealand incl. adj. islands; Chatham Is., probably Snares, Auckland and Campbell islands.  Often included in L. novaehollandiae.
Larus bulleri  BLACK-BILLED GULL.  Rivers, lakes.  New Zealand, mostly on South Island, locally at Rotorua and Gisborne on North Island.

Larus maculipennis  BROWN-HOODED GULL.  Coasts, marshy lakes, rivers, flooded fields.  From c Chile n to Valparaíso and Santiago, ne Argentina and Uruguay s to Tierra del Fuego; Falkland Is.
Larus ridibundus  COMMON BLACK-HEADED GULL.  Lakes, rivers, bogs, moors, grassland, swamps, marshes.  From Greenland, Iceland, Faroe Is., c Scandinavia, n Russia and n Siberia e to Kolyma R., s locally to Spain, n Italy, Sardinia and Sicily, Turkey, nw Iran, Armenia, n Aral Sea, Altai, s Siberia e to Amurland, Ussuriland and Sakhalin; Kamchatka, nw China, nw,n Mongolia and Manchuria.  Locally in Newfoundland, s Quebec on Madeleine I., and Monomoy I. off Massachusetts.  Winters s to c Africa, s Asia, Philippines, Palau, and in e N. America from Great Lakes s to Florida and, rarely, the W. Indies.

Larus genei  SLENDER-BILLED GULL.  Coasts, lakes, lagoons, marshes.  Mauritania, Senegambia and sw Morocco; s,e Spain, s France, Sardinia, n Italy, Greece, n Black Sea, n,e Caspian Sea, n Kazakhstan, Aral Sea, Lake Balkash, Turkey, ne Egypt and Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman e to Pakistan in Sind.  Winters in Canary Is., Mediterranean, Black and Red seas, s to East Africa, and along coasts near breeding areas.
Larus philadelphia  BONAPARTE'S GULL.  Coniferous woods.  From w,c Alaska, c Yukon, nw,c Mackenzie and n Manitoba s to sc,se Alaska w to Alaska Pen., s British Columbia, c,sw Alberta, c Saskatchewan, s Manitoba, s James Bay in nw Ontario and w Quebec, se Quebec.
Larus saundersi  SAUNDERS'S GULL.  Lakes.  Breeding range unknown, believed to be inland lakes in n China, probably in Inner Mongolia.  Winters s to East Africa and se to Sri Lanka and coasts of e Asia.

Larus serranus  ANDEAN GULL.  Mt. lakes.  Andean lakes from Ecuador s through Peru and c,sw Bolivia to c Chile and nw Argentina.
Larus melanocephalus  MEDITERRANEAN GULL.  Steppe, coast, bays, marshes, lakes.  Locally in coastal areas from s British Isles and s Scandinavia s to s France, Italy and Greece, n Black Sea in Sea of Azov region.
Larus relictus  RELICT GULL.  Saline lakes in arid steppe.  Steppe, 300-1500 m, of c Asia L. Alakol and L. Balkhash in se Kazakhstan, L. Orog in nw Mongolia and probably elsewhere; L. Barun-Toray in Transbaicalia in cs Siberia; and nc China in Inner Mongolia.  Has been treated as a race of L. melanocephalus or as a hybrid, but seems to be a good species of uncertain affinities.

Larus fuliginosus  LAVA GULL.  Coasts, islands.  Galapagos Islands.
Larus atricilla  LAUGHING GULL.  Coasts, bays, estuaries.  Formerly on Salton Sea in sc Calif.  Pacific coast of Sonora and Sinaloa; Atlantic-Gulf-Caribbean region from s New Brunswick and s Nova Scotia s to Florida and w to Texas, through W. Indies to Cayo Arcas and Alacrán Reef off Yucatán Pen., n Venezuela from Las Aves e to Tobago and French Guiana.  Laughing Gulls wander far from their breeding grounds as vagrants in Europe, Hawaii, the Line Is., Samoa, Bikini Atoll, e Australia and Pitcairn Island (Wragg, G. 1994. Notornis 41:295-296).
Larus pipixcan  FRANKLIN'S GULL.  Prairie marshes.  From e Alberta, c Saskatchewan, sw Manitoba, e N. Dakota and w Minnesota s locally to s Calif., ec Oregon, s Idaho, nw Utah, nw Wyoming, ne S. Dakota and nw Iowa.

Larus minutus  LITTLE GULL.  Grassy marshes.  From s Scandinavia and nw Russia s locally to Germany, Denmark, Romania, sc Russia, c Siberia e to L. Baikal, Transbaicalia, Yakutia, n Amurland and e Mongolia.  Locally in ne Manitoba, n Wisconsin, n Michigan, s Ontario and s Quebec.
Pagophila eburnea  IVORY GULL.  Associated with the Arctic ice pack, nesting on cliffs or rocky islets.  N Greenland, Spitsbergen, Franz Josef Land, n Novaya Zemlya and Severnaya Zemlya.  Arctic N. America on Prince Patrick, n Ellef Ringnes, Meighen, se Ellesmere and n Baffin I.
Rhodostethia rosea  ROSS'S GULL.  Breeds on Arctic coasts, river deltas, swampy tundra.  Wc Greenland at Disko Bay, Franz Josef Land; s Taimyr Pen.; n Siberia from Khroma R. e to Kolyma R. and Chaun Bay.  N N. America on Meighen and Devon islands; Churchill in ne Manitoba.

Xema sabini  SABINE'S GULL.  Breeds in coastal wet meadows and grassy flats.  N Greenland, Spitsbergen and New Siberian Is., and n Russia and n Siberia from Taimyr Pen. e to Anadyrland.  From n,w Alaska from Kotzebue Sound to Bristol Bay, nw Mackenzie, and Banks, Victoria, Bathurst, nw Devon and Bylot islands, s locally to King William, s Southampton and s Baffin is., and nw Keewatin.
Creagrus furcatus  SWALLOW-TAILED GULL.  Breeds on islands on coasts, flat areas near cliffs, ledges and beaches.  Galapagos Islands.  Malpelo I. off Colombia.
Rissa tridactyla  BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE.  Breeds on coastal cliffs.  From Greenland, Iceland, Faroe Is., Jan Mayen, Spitsbergen, Franz Josef Land, Novaya Zemlya, Severnaya Zemlya and New Siberian, Bennet and Wrangel islands, s to British Isles, w,n Europe s to Portugal, coastal nw Russia on the Kola Pen., and s to Shantar Is., and islands off Sakhalin and Kuril and Commander is.  Coast of w,s Alaska from Cape Lisburne s to Aleutian Is., and e to Glacier Bay and Dixon Harbor; from Banks, e Somerset, Prince Leopold, Bylot and Cobourg islands, s locally through n,c Baffin I., Labrador and Newfoundland to se Quebec.

Rissa brevirostris  RED-LEGGED KITTIWAKE.  Pelagic, breeds on steep cliffs on islands.  W Alaska in the Pribilof Is. on St. George and St. Paul, and the Aleutians on Buldir, Bogoslof and Fire islands; probably the Commander Islands.

Sibley's Sequence - 19a
tribe Sternini