Do you know what the most common gull in the Everglades is? The laughing gull! These gulls are medium in size with long wings and legs. They are a coastal warm-weather species, which is why they can be found hanging around the Everglades year round. Below, we wanted to share some fun facts about this bird.

• They can even be found inland around plowed fields, rivers, garbage dumps, and parking lots.
• As their name reveals, this species of gull is very vocal; their call is loud with a series of “laughing” notes that last at least three seconds long. When threatened, laughing gulls make a short alarm call, but this can get more intense and last a long time if they are defending a nest.
• When in the Everglades, on the shoreline or a beach, you can identify this gull by its black hood and red bills. Their back and wings are also a bit darker than other similar-sized gulls. They stand in groups.
• Laughing gulls eat a variety of different species including crustaceans, worms, insects, snails, crabs, fish, squid, berries, offal, and human food found on the beaches.
• When mating, both the male and female laughing gull build the nest. Often, the male will start to build the nest in hope of attracting a female.
• Their nests can be found on sand, rocks, or hidden in plants or dead plants.
• They remove the egg shells from the nest after each bird hatches; the shells can potentially get lodged on top of another egg and cause the bird not to hatch.
• In the late 19^th century, this bird was overhunted for its eggs and plumes (hate trade). But since 1966, the population has increased.

Want to see and hear these birds? Take a trip on an airboat ride that can bring you all around where these birds live. Call Captain Mitch’s Airboat Tours today to have an experience of a lifetime. Click here or call 800-368-0065 to schedule your tour through an American gem.