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Birds

Birds

Common name Audouin's gull
Scientific name Ichthyaetus audouinii
Type Seabirds
Status Migrator

Medium-sized bird (approx 52 cm or 20.5 in). Adults with light grey upperparts and wings and white plumage on the belly, head and neck. Red bill, with black and yellow tip in the end, distinguished dark altogether in the distance. Olive legs (very distinctive feature) and a red eye ring. Black wing tips.

Habitats

Marine environment

Where it lives

Coasts and beaches with rock fields and little human presence.

How it lives

Wintering species and present in Malaga also in migratory passage. The Audouin's Gull breeds in colonies in the Mediterranean, although not in the province. It nests on rocky coasts (for example in Chafarinas), islands and dykes. One laying of 2 to 3 eggs at the end of April. This gull feeds on pelagic fish, mainly sardines and anchovies, but also consumes invertebrates (crustaceans, molluscs, insects). In winter, it moves to sheltered sandy beaches.

Where it can be seen in Malaga

Scarce and rare species. It can be watched especially in the mouth of the Guadalhorce and in the port of Malaga. Occasionally also on the shores of Estepona.

Curious facts

Jean Victor Audouin was a French entomologist of the Romantic era (1797-1841) who devoted part of his life to the study of marine animals on the French coast, at which time he described this rare species of gull.

Similar birds
Present
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Wintering Summer Resident Migration
Audios