(aka Chroicocephalus philadelphia)
June 2009
Bonaparte's Gull breeds from Alaska and British Colombia eastwards across North America to eastern Quebec. It winters along the Pacific coast south to Mexico, along the Atlantic coast to Florida and the Gulf and along the Mississippi. There is a distribution map on NatureServe.
It feeds on small fish, small invertebrates and insects.
In breeding plumage, as shown here, it has a black hood and black bill with red legs. The mantle is grey and the wings have black tips and a white wedge on the outer primaries.
The English name comes from Prince Charles Lucien Bonaparte, a nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte and a well-known ornithologist.
There is more information available via Avibase.
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