The kelp gull (''Larus dominicanus''), also known as the Dominican gull, is a

gull Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century, m ...

that breeds on coasts and islands through much of the Southern Hemisphere. The

nominate Nomination is part of the process of selecting a candidate for either election to a public office, or the bestowing of an honor or award. A collection of nominees narrowed from the full list of candidates is a short list. Political office In the ...

''L. d. dominicanus'' is the

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

found around South America, parts of Australia (where it overlaps with the

Pacific gull The Pacific gull (''Larus pacificus'') is a very large gull, native to the coasts of Australia. It is moderately common between Carnarvon in the west, and Sydney in the east, although it has become scarce in some parts of the south-east, as a re ...

), and New Zealand (where it is known as the black-backed gull, the southern black-backed gull, mollyhawk – particularly the juveniles, or by its

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

name ''karoro''). ''L. d. vetula'' (known as the Cape gull) is a subspecies occurring around Southern Africa. The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

comes from the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ol ...

s, who wear black and white

habits A habit (or wont as a humorous and formal term) is a routine of behavior that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously.

Description

The kelp gull superficially resembles two gulls from further north in the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, the

lesser black-backed gull The lesser black-backed gull (''Larus fuscus'') is a large gull that breeds on the Atlantic coasts of Europe. It is migratory, wintering from the British Isles south to West Africa. It has increased dramatically in North America, most common alo ...

and the

great black-backed gull The great black-backed gull (''Larus marinus'') is the largest member of the gull family. Described by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology as "the king of the Atlantic waterfront", it is a very aggressive hunter, pirate, and scavenger. It breeds on t ...

and is intermediate in size between these two species. This species ranges from in total length, from in wingspan and from in weight. Adult males and females weigh on average and respectively. Among standard measurements, the wing chord is , the

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

is and the tarsus is .''Gulls: Of North America, Europe, and Asia'' by Klaus Malling Olsen & Hans Larsson. Princeton University Press (2004). .Harrison, Peter, ''Seabirds: An Identification Guide''. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (1991), ''CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses'' by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (1992), . The adult kelp gull has black upper parts and wings. The head, underparts, tail, and the small "mirrors" at the wing tips are white. The bill is yellow with a red spot, and the legs are greenish-yellow (brighter and yellower when breeding, duller and greener when not breeding). The call is a strident ''ki-och''. Juveniles have dull legs, a black bill, a dark band in the tail, and an overall grey-brown

plumage Plumage ( "feather") is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, ...

densely edged whitish, but they rapidly get a pale base to the bill and largely white head and underparts. They take three or four years to reach maturity.

Subspecies

There are five subspecies of kelp gull. The African subspecies ''L. d. vetula'' is sometimes split as the Cape gull, ''L. vetula''. It has a more angular head and a smaller shorter bill. The adult has a dark eye, whereas the nominate kelp gull usually has a pale eye. Young Cape gulls have almost identical plumage to similarly aged kelp gulls. *''L. d. dominicanus'', ( Lichtenstein, 1823): South America,

Falklands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...

South Georgia South Georgia ( es, Isla San Pedro) is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It lies around east of the Falkland Islands. Stretching in the east� ...

, Australia & New Zealand *''L. d. vetula'', ( Bruch, 1853): Southern Africa *''L. d. judithae'', (Jiguet, 2002): subantarctic islands in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

*''L. d. melisandae'', (Jiguet, 2002): southern & southwestern

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

*''L. d. austrinus'', (Fleming, 1924):

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

& Antarctic islands The kelp gull is a rare vagrant to the United States, with the first record in 1989 on

Chandeleur Islands The Chandeleur Islands (french: Îles Chandeleur) are a chain of uninhabited barrier islands approximately long, located in the Gulf of Mexico, marking the outer boundary of the Chandeleur Sound. They form the easternmost point of the state of Lo ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. They have interbred with

American herring gull The American herring gull or Smithsonian gull (''Larus smithsonianus'' or ''Larus argentatus smithsonianus'') is a large gull that breeds in North America, where it is treated by the American Ornithological Society as a subspecies of herring gull ...

on these islands, leading to intermediate birds that may backcross to one another. After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, breeding populations of the two species and their hybrids were displaced from the island, though putative hybrids have been reported elsewhere and may be the result of other offshore colonies.

Behaviour

Kelp gulls are

omnivores An omnivore () is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nutri ...

like most ''Larus'' gulls, and they will scavenge as well as seek suitable small prey. They gather on landfills and a sharp increase in population is therefore considered as an indicator for a degraded environment. Kelp gulls have been observed feeding on living

right whales Right whales are three species of large baleen whales of the genus ''Eubalaena'': the North Atlantic right whale (''E. glacialis''), the North Pacific right whale (''E. japonica'') and the Southern right whale (''E. australis''). They are class ...

since at least 1996.Increased harassment of Right Whales (''Eubalaena australis'') by Kelp Gulls (''Larus dominicanus'') at Península Valdés, Argentina
Rowntree, V.J., P. MacGuiness, K. Marshall, R. Payne, J. Seger, and M. Sironi, 1998. ''Marine Mammal Science''. 14(1): 99 - 115. The kelp gull uses its powerful beak to peck down centimetres into the skin and blubber, often leaving the whales with large open sores, some of which have been observed to be half a meter in diameter. This predatory behavior has been documented in Argentinian waters.Gulls' vicious attacks on whales
BBC News, June 24, 2009. At rocky sites along the Southern African coast, such as at

Boulders Beach Boulders Beach is a sheltered beach made up of inlets between granite boulders, from which the name originated. It is located on the Cape Peninsula, in Simon's Town, a suburb of Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is also c ...

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

, kelp gulls (''Larus dominicanus vetula'') can be seen picking up shellfish and repeatedly flying up several meters and dropping them onto the rocks below in order to break them open. They have also been reported pecking the eyes out of seal pups on the coast of

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

before attacking the blind seals in a group. The nest is a shallow depression on the ground lined with vegetation and feathers. The female usually lays 2 or 3 eggs. Both parents feed the young birds.

Gallery

File:Kelp_Gull_-_Gaviota_Dominicana_-_Larus_Dominicanus.jpg, At

Concón Concón is a Chilean city and commune in Valparaíso Province, Valparaíso Region. It is a major tourist center known for its beaches, ''balnearios'' (beachside resorts) and night life. Geography The commune of Concón spans an area of . It is ...

, Chile File:Larus dominicanus -New Zealand-28 Dec2009.jpg, Adult and two chicks in New Zealand File:Gull, kelp juvenile RWD.jpg, Juvenile in New Zealand File:Kelp gull in flight in New Brighton, Christchurch, New Zealand.jpg, Kelp gull in flight File:A Kelp Gull in Bahia Inglesa Chile Sep 2009.jpg, Subspecies ''L. d. dominicanus'' stealing a meal of shellfish from

blackish oystercatcher The blackish oystercatcher (''Haematopus ater'') is a species of wading bird in the oystercatcher family Haematopodidae. It is found in Argentina, Chile, the Falkland Islands and Peru, and is a vagrant to Uruguay. The population is estimated at ...

s in Bahía Inglesa, Chile

Cape gull (''Larus dominicanus vetula'' or ''Larus vetula'')

File:Kelp Gull, South Africa.JPG, Cape gull (''L. d. vetula''),

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

File:Cape Gull RWD.jpg,

Hout Bay Hout Bay ( af, Houtbaai, meaning "Wood Bay") is a harbour town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is situated in a valley on the Atlantic seaboard of the Cape Peninsula, twenty kilometres south of Cape Town. The name "Hout Bay" can ...

, South Africa File:Gull, Cape RWD3.jpg, Hout Bay, South Africa File:Cape gulls, South Africa.jpg, Cape gulls searching for food in

The Cape gull differs from other forms of kelp gulls by its immaculate white tail and dark eye. The Southern African population is estimated to include 11,000 breeding pairs, and is expanding.

References

* Ian Sinclair, Phil Hockey and Warwick Tarboton, ''SASOL Birds of Southern Africa'' (Struik 2002)

External links

Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds

Specimens
of Larus dominicanus in the collection of Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa {{Taxonbar, from=Q1127687

kelp gull The kelp gull (''Larus dominicanus''), also known as the Dominican gull, is a gull that breeds on coasts and islands through much of the Southern Hemisphere. The nominate ''L. d. dominicanus'' is the subspecies found around South America, par ...

Birds of Antarctica Birds of Patagonia Birds of Madagascar Birds of Southern Africa Birds of the Southern Ocean Birds of subantarctic islands