Brown-Headed Gull of Peninsular Malaysia

Unlike the Black-Headed Gull which are quite common in Europe, Brown-Headed Gull (Larus brunnicephalus) is reported to breed in Central Asia and winters in South East Asia. At one time Brown-Headed Gulls are quire rare in Malaysia but their regular presence here since in the early 1990s has made them quite a common winter migrant. Recently they have decided to venture closer to the mainland than their usual resting areas along the tide line. So i have had a rare opportunity to view them up close and obtained several interesting photos.

Unlike some waders (eg plovers and sandpipers) which can zig-zagged on the mudflats at incredible speed, Brown-Headed Gulls can be considered a graceful flyer.

Here you can see the typical features of a gull - pronounced gonys and a stubby bill. However not all gulls have a white iris - Black-Headed, Kittiwake and Common Gulls for example have black irises.

A typical pose from a gull.

Their wings can appear quite long when fully stretched

From the above photo you can see the white patches at the tip of its primaries which is a distinct feature for this species.

It appears that a juvenile Brown-Headed Gull is slightly different in some features. See its photos below:

Assuming that the above photos indeed refer to a juvenile Brown Headed Gull then you can see that their bill and leg colors appear orangey, its iris are black and, there is an absence of white patches at its primaries. Also can be seen are the broad black trailing edges on its secondary and primary flight feathers as well as the appearance of a partial black terminal tail band.

As they moved towards summer, their head color will changed into brownish.

From the above two photos you can see that the coloration of their head has began to changed into its brown summer plumage. Other features which you can see here are the emergence of white patches at the tip of its primaries, the legs are more reddish while the black terminal tail band has disappeared as well as the black edges at its primary and secondary feathers. The local name for this gull is: "Camar Topeng Coklat" (Allen J & Pearson, 2012) which literally means a "Brown Masked Gull". It is a protected bird in Malaysia: Akta Pemuliharaan Hidupan Liar 2010 (Act 716) - Schedule 2, Appendix 1(CITES).

From the recent trip, i have also manage to observed the food it takes which were mainly fishes.

However according to the "Handbook of the Birds of the World" (HBW), their diet also consisted of shrimps, insects, worms, rodents, plant shoots and winged termites. One important thing to note here is that the fishes caught near factories which allow its effluents to flow into the sea would taste differently than those caught/eaten away from those factories (info was noted from my conversation with the folks who lives near the river mouth). I just wonder whether these birds would felt the same !

Until we meet again in the next winter break, i said adieus to them!

Have a pleasant trip back to your breeding grounds!