Larus atricilla                                                         Photo Chris Burney ©

The laughing gull is a slim, medium-sized gull with a black head.  It is named for its loud, high-pitched “ha-ha-ha-ha-haah” call.  They often beg for food from beachgoers and fishermen.

The laughing gull is the only gull to breed in Florida.  As many as 50,000 pairs of laughing gulls nest on dredge-spoil islands in the Tampa Bay area.  Smaller nesting colonies are found on islands in Florida Bay, Charlotte Harbor and on spoil islands in the Banana River.

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