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{{Redirect|Larus cachinnans|another species for which this name has been used|Yellow-legged gull}}

{{Taxobox
| name = Caspian gull
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name=iucn>{{cite journal |author=[[BirdLife International]] |title=''Larus cachinnans'' |journal=[[IUCN Red List of Threatened Species]] |volume=2014 |page=e.T22735929A62504211 |publisher=[[IUCN]] |year=2014 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-2.RLTS.T22735929A62504211.en |accessdate=7 May 2016}}</ref>
| image = Larus cachinnans 3 (Marek Szczepanek).jpg
| image_caption = Adult Caspian gull, Poland
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]]
| classis = [[bird|Aves]]
| ordo = [[Charadriiformes]]
| familia = [[Laridae]]
| genus = ''[[Larus]]''
| species = '''''L. cachinnans'''''
| binomial = ''Larus cachinnans''
| binomial_authority = [[Peter Simon Pallas|Pallas]], 1811
}}

'''Caspian gull''' is a [[English names for organisms|name]] applied to the [[gull]] [[taxon]] ''Larus cachinnans'', a member of the [[Larus|herring gull/lesser black-backed gull complex]]. The scientific name is from [[Latin]]. ''Larus'' appears to have referred to a gull or other large seabird, and ''cachinnans'' means "laughing", from ''cachinnare'', "to laugh".<ref name=job>{{cite book | last= Jobling | first= James A | year= 2010| title= The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | publisher= Christopher Helm | location = London | isbn = 978-1-4081-2501-4 | pages =82, 219}}</ref>

==Description==
It is a large gull at {{convert|56|–|68|cm|in|abbr=on}} long, with a {{convert|137|to|155|cm|in|abbr=on}} wingspan and a body mass of {{convert|680|–|1590|g|lb|abbr=on}}.<ref name=CRC/><ref name=Olsen/> Among standard measurements, the [[Wing chord (biology)|wing chord]] is {{convert|38.5|to|48|cm|in|abbr=on}}, the [[Beak|bill]] is {{convert|4.6|to|6.4|cm|in|abbr=on}} and the [[Tarsus (skeleton)|tarsus]] is {{convert|5.8|to|7.7|cm|in|abbr=on}}.<ref name=Olsen/> The Caspian gull has a long, slender bill, accentuated by the sloping forehead. The legs, wings and neck are longer than those of the herring gull and [[yellow-legged gull]]. The eye is small and often dark, the legs vary from pale pink to a pale yellowish colour. The back and wings are a slightly darker shade of grey than the herring gull but slightly paler than the yellow-legged gull. The outermost [[remiges|primary feather]] has a large white tip and a white tongue running up the inner web.

First-winter birds have a pale head with dark streaking on the back of the neck. The underparts are pale and the back is greyish. The greater and median [[wing-coverts]] have whitish tips forming two pale lines across the wing.

==Distribution==
The Caspian gull breeds around the [[Black Sea|Black]] and [[Caspian Sea]]s, extending eastwards across [[Central Asia]] to north-west [[China]]. In [[Europe]] it has been spreading north and west and now breeds in [[Poland]] and eastern [[Germany]]. Some birds migrate south as far as the [[Red Sea]] and [[Persian Gulf]] while others disperse into [[Western Europe]], in countries such as [[Sweden]], Norway and Denmark or the Benelux and even North of France. Small numbers are now seen regularly in [[Great Britain|Britain]], especially in [[South-east England]], [[East Anglia]] and the [[English Midlands|Midlands]].

== Breeding ==
[[File:Larus cachinnans MWNH 0345.JPG|thumb|Eggs, Collection [[Museum Wiesbaden]]]]
It typically nests on flat, low-lying ground by water unlike the yellow-legged gull which mainly nests on cliffs in areas where the two overlap. The breeding season starts from early April. Two or three eggs are laid and incubated for 27 to 31 days.

==Feeding==
They are [[scavenger]]s and [[predator]]s with a very varied diet. During the breeding season they often eat [[rodent]]s such as [[ground squirrel]]s, flying some distance into the steppes to find them.

==Classification and subspecies==
This form has a troubled taxonomic history, summarised in the [[European herring gull|herring gull]] article. The Caspian gull used to be treated as a subspecies of the herring gull but it is now treated as a full species by many authorities (e.g. the [[British Ornithologists' Union]] Records Committee). Some authorities include the yellow-legged gull (''L. michahellis'') within ''L. cachinnans'' but it is now commonly considered to be a separate species.

The '''steppe gull''' or '''Baraba gull''' (''L. (cachinnans) barabensis'') may be regarded as a subspecies of the Caspian gull or as a separate species. It is also very similar genetically to its northern neighbour, the ''taimyrensis'' race of [[Heuglin's gull]]. The steppe gull breeds in Central Asia, particularly northern [[Kazakhstan]]. Its non-breeding range is still little-known but most are thought to winter in south-west [[Asia]] from the Persian Gulf to north-west [[India]]. There are possible records of this form from [[Hong Kong]] and [[South Korea]].

The '''[[Mongolian gull]]''' (''L. (vegae/cachinnans) mongolicus'') may be classed as a subspecies of the Caspian gull, a subspecies of the [[East Siberian gull]] or as a species in its own right. It breeds in [[Mongolia]] and surrounding areas and migrates south-east in winter.

<gallery>
File:Larus cachinnans 1 young (Marek Szczepanek).jpg|Young Caspian gulls in Poland
File:Larus cachinnans 2 young (Marek Szczepanek).jpg|Juvenile
</gallery>

==References==
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name=CRC>{{cite book |title=CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses |editor-first=John B., Jr. |editor-last=Dunning |publisher=CRC Press |year=1992 |isbn=978-0-8493-4258-5}}</ref>
<ref name=Olsen>{{cite book |first1=Klaus Malling |last1=Olsen |first2=Hans |last2=Larsson |year=2004 |title=Gulls of North America, Europe, and Asia |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0691119977}}</ref>
}}

==Further reading==

===Identification===
* {{cite journal |last1=Garner |first1=Martin |last2=Quinn |first2=David |title=Identification of Yellow-legged Gulls in Britain |year=1997 |journal=British Birds |volume=90 |url=https://www.britishbirds.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/article_files/V90/V90_N01_02/V90_N01_02_P025_062_A004.pdf |pages=25–62, 369–384}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Bakker |first1=Theo |first2=Rudy |last2=Offereins |first3=Rik |last3=Winters |year=2000 |title=Caspian Gull identification gallery |journal=[[Birding World]] |volume=13 |issue=2 |pages=60–74}} (identification article including 34 images of Caspian Gulls of various ages)
* {{cite journal |last=Jonsson |first=Lars |year=1998 |title=Yellow-legged gulls and yellow legged herring gulls in the Baltic |journal=Alula |volume=4 |issue=3/1998 |pages=74–100}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Neubauer |first1=Gregory |first2=Richard |last2=Millington |year=2000 |title=Caspian Gull identification revisited |journal=[[Birding World]] |volume=13 |issue=11 |pages=462–465}} (addresses identification in juvenile plumage)
* {{Cite journal |last=Small |first=Brian |year=2001 |title=The juvenile Caspian Gull in Suffolk |journal=[[Birding World]] |volume=14 |issue=9 |pages=385–387}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Gibbins |first1=Chris |first2=Brian J. |last2=Small |first3=John |last3=Sweeney |year=2010 |title=From the Rarities Committee's files: Identification of Caspian Gull, part 1: typical birds |journal=[[British Birds (magazine)|British Birds]] |volume=103 |issue=3 |pages=142–183}} (detailed identification paper, covering typical individuals)

==External links==
{{commons category|Larus cachinnans}}
{{wikispecies|Larus cachinnans}}
* [http://www.xs4all.nl/~calidris/gullindex.htm Caspian Gull photos], Rudy's Gull-index
* [http://www.xs4all.nl/~daarruud/lubna_index.html Gulls in Poland] incl. Caspian gull and hybrids
* [http://www.xs4all.nl/~daarruud/cachinnans.html Caspian Gulls in Amsterdam]
* [http://www.berksbirds.co.uk/articles/caspiangullid.asp Identification of Caspian Gull], Berkshire Birds
* [http://www.birdskorea.org/Birds/Identification/ID_Notes/BK-ID-Steppe-Gull.shtml Steppe gull ''barabensis'' in South Korea], Birds Korea
* [http://www.iesmeulmeester.nl/fotos.php?actie=cat&cat=25 Pictures of Caspian gulls from all ages] included some hybrids and ringed Caspian gulls
* {{BirdLife|22735929|Larus cachinnans}}
* {{Avibase|name=Larus cachinnans}}
* {{IUCN_Map|22735929|Larus cachinnans}}
* {{Xeno-canto species|Larus|cachinnans|Caspian gull}}
* {{field guide birds of the world|Larus cachinnans}}
* {{ARKive}}

{{Gulls}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:gull, Caspian}}
[[Category:Larus|Caspian gull]]
[[Category:Birds of Central Asia]]
[[Category:Birds of Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1811|Caspian gull]]

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Couiros22 at 13:23, 16 February 2017