Scientific name: Larus cirrocephalus
The grey-headed gull is slightly larger than the black-headed gull at 42 cm length. The summer adult has a pale grey head, a grey body, darker in tone than the black-headed, and red bill and legs. The black tips to the primary wing feathers have conspicuous white "mirrors". The underwing is dark grey with black wingtips. The grey hood is lost in winter, leaving just dark streaks. Sexes are similar.
Within southern Africa it is fairly common in western and northern Namibia (including the Caprivi Strip), northern Botswana, north-western Zimbabwe, eastern Mozambique and central and southern South Africa. It generally prefers coastal islands, estuaries, lagoons, harbours, pans, dams, fresh and alkaline lakes, large rivers and sewage ponds.
Like most gulls it is a highly opportunistic feeder, mainly eating aquatic invertebrates as well as a variety of small vertebrates. It does most of its foraging in flocks over water, plucking prey from the surface or moving to rubbish dumps and picnic sites to feed on food scraps.
