Mediterranean gull: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the Mediterranean gull lives – recorded in 35 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Ichthyaetus melanocephalus
Group	Waders, gulls, terns & auks
Found in	35 countries
Continents	Africa, Asia, Europe
Class	Bird
Order	Charadriiformes
Family	Laridae

Where does the Mediterranean gull live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the Mediterranean gull in 35 countries and territories across Africa, Asia and Europe. Wikidata gives its range as: Africa.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

What kind of animal is the Mediterranean gull?

The Mediterranean gull (Ichthyaetus melanocephalus) is a bird in the order Charadriiformes and the family Laridae, genus Ichthyaetus. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the Mediterranean gull

The Mediterranean gull (Ichthyaetus melanocephalus) is a small gull. The scientific name is from Ancient Greek. The genus Ichthyaetus is from ikhthus, "fish", and aetos, "eagle", and the specific melanocephalus is from melas, "black", and -kephalos "-headed".

This gull breeds almost entirely in the Western Palearctic, mainly in the south east, especially around the Black Sea, and in central Turkey. There are colonies elsewhere in southern Europe, and this species has undergone a dramatic range expansion in recent decades. As is the case with many gulls, it has traditionally been placed in the genus Larus.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Mediterranean gull (revision 1315069134), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q276189 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).