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The kelp gull (''Larus dominicanus''), also known as the Dominican gull, is a
gull Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the subfamily Larinae. They are most closely related to terns and skimmers, distantly related to auks, and even more distantly related to waders. Until the 21st century, most gulls were placed ...
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 th ...
''L. d. dominicanus'' is the
subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...
found around South America, parts of Australia (where it overlaps with the
Pacific gull The Pacific gull (''Larus pacificus'') is a gull, native to the coasts of Australia. It is moderately common between Carnarvon, Western Australia, Carnarvon in the west, and Sydney in the east, although it has become scarce in some parts of the s ...
), 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 Co ...
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 (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic Church, Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilians, Castilian priest named Saint Dominic, Dominic de Gu ...
of
friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders in the Catholic Church. There are also friars outside of the Catholic Church, such as within the Anglican Communion. The term, first used in the 12th or 13th century, distinguishes the mendi ...
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. A 1903 paper in the ''American Journal of Psychology'' defined a "habit, from the standpoint of psychology, ...
.


Description

The kelp gull superficially resembles two gulls from further north in the Atlantic Ocean, the lesser black-backed gull">Atlantic Ocean">...
.


Description

The kelp gull superficially resembles two gulls from further north in the Atlantic Ocean, the lesser black-backed gull and the great black-backed gull, 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 Pl ...
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 () 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, there can b ...
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. The kelp gull is a rare vagrant to the United States, with the first record in 1989 on
Chandeleur Islands The Chandeleur Islands () 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 Louisiana, United States ...
in
Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
. 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 gu ...
on these islands, leading to intermediate birds that may backcross to one another. After
Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...
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 regularly consumes significant quantities of both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize t ...
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, in the southern region of Cape Town, South Africa. It is also commonly known as ...
in
Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, 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 on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...
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 ...
, Chile File:Larus dominicanus -New Zealand-28 Dec2009.jpg, Adult and two chicks in New Zealand File:Larus dominicanus2.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 oystercatchers in Bahía Inglesa, Chile


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

File:Kelp Gull, South Africa.JPG, Cape gull (''L. d. vetula''),
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, in the southern region of Cape Town, South Africa. It is also commonly known as ...
,
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
File:Cape Gull RWD.jpg,
Hout Bay Hout Bay (, meaning "Wood Bay") is a seaside suburb of Cape 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 the Central business district of ...
, South Africa File:Gull, Cape RWD3.jpg, Hout Bay, South Africa File:Cape gulls, South Africa.jpg, Cape gulls searching for food in
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
 The Cape gull differs from other forms of kelp gulls by its darker iris and larger body and bill size. 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, pa ...
Birds of Antarctica Birds of Patagonia Birds of Madagascar Birds of Southern Africa Birds of the Southern Ocean Birds of subantarctic islands
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, pa ...
Fauna of Macquarie Island