Kozhikode-based ornithologist has reported the sighting of a rare migratory bird Caspian Gull (Larus cachinnans) for the first time in Kerala.
About Caspian Gull:
It is a monotypic, large, white-headed gull and is one of the rarest gulls to be seen in India.
Habitat: It typically nests on flat, low-lying ground by water.
During the breeding season the species nests near lakes surrounded by reedbeds in steppe and semi-desert (Central Asia) reservoirs, rivers, and on grassy or shrubby river islands
Diet: Its diet consists of fish, invertebrates including insects, molluscs etc.
It is very difficult to identify since it closely resembles the Steppe Gull.
The Caspian Gull, usually found in Central Asia, visits northwestern India, such as Gujarat, in winter.
They move from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea, then to southern and eastern Kazakhstan and western China. They winter in Asia and Africa.
Traditionally, its wintering areas are from the eastern Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf and western India but increasing numbers now disperse into Europe, into countries such as Sweden, Norway and Denmark.
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