Mediterranean gull [SEP] parent taxon
Mediterranean gull
The Mediterranean gull ("Ichthyaetus melanocephalus") is a small gull. The scientific name is from Ancient Greek. The genus "Ichthyaetus" is from "ikhthus", "fish", and "aetos", "eagle", and the specific "melanocephalus" is from "melas", "black", and "-kephalos" "-headed".
This gull breeds almost entirely in the Western Palearctic, mainly in the south east, especially around the Black Sea, and in central Turkey
" is Ancient Greek and means "resembling".
It is migratory, wintering from in the North Atlantic as far south as the British Isles and northernmost states of the eastern United States, as well as in the interior of North America as far west as the western Great Lakes. It is much scarcer in Europe than the similar glaucous gull.
The American taxon Kumlien's gull is often considered a subspecies, "L. g. kumlieni", of Iceland gull. The taxon Thayer's gull is considered a subspecies,