{"id":14499,"date":"2014-03-04T06:10:12","date_gmt":"2014-03-04T13:10:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=14499"},"modified":"2025-07-13T08:59:51","modified_gmt":"2025-07-13T13:59:51","slug":"adult-and-juvenile-laughing-gulls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/03\/04\/adult-and-juvenile-laughing-gulls\/","title":{"rendered":"Adult and juvenile Laughing Gulls"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"FlyingAdult Laughing Gull in breeding plumage – Nikon D200, handheld, f7.1, 1\/800, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

Laughing Gulls are commonly seen at Fort De Soto County Park but novices to birding and bird watching might think they are three different kinds of gulls depending on their age and plumage. The Laughing Gull in the image above flying over the Gulf of Mexico is an adult in breeding plumage.<\/p>\n

\"Close<\/p>\n

Close fly by from a Laughing Gull in nonbreeding plumage – Nikon D200, handheld, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 320, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 220mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

The Laughing Gull in this image looks quite different but is also an adult shown in nonbreeding plumage. This bird lacks the dark hood and reddish bill that a Laughing Gull shows in breeding plumage.<\/p>\n

\"JuvenileJuvenile Laughing Gull\u00a0– Nikon D200, handheld, f7.1, 1\/350, ISO 250, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 310mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

This last image shows a juvenile Laughing Gull which in size, shape and form looks just like the adult Laughing Gulls but the plumage is quite different in color and pattern. It can be even more confusing because juvenile Laughing Gulls in 1st winter, 1st summer and 2nd winter also exhibit differences in plumage.<\/p>\n

Laughing Gulls may have been common for me to see in Florida but here in Utah\u00a0seeing one\u00a0would be considered rare.<\/p>\n

Life is <\/em>good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Laughing Gull photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Laughing Gulls are commonly seen at Fort De Soto County Park but novices to birding and bird watching might think they are three different kinds of gulls depending on their age and plumage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":150294,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,25,704,188,2000],"tags":[4004,4039,4053,4101,5229,5132,4052,4122,4077,3539,521,4067,4071,3995,4160,4246,3980,4018,3996,4119,4193],"class_list":["post-14499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-florida","category-fort-de-soto-county-park","category-laughing-gulls-gulls","category-pinellas-county-florida","tag-adult","tag-beach","tag-breeding-plumage","tag-clouds","tag-coast","tag-coastal","tag-flight","tag-flying","tag-gulf-of-mexico","tag-gull","tag-gulls","tag-immature","tag-juvenile","tag-laughing-gull","tag-leucophaeus-atricilla","tag-nonbreeding-plumage","tag-pinellas-county","tag-sky","tag-water","tag-waves","tag-young"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/laughing-gull-adult-mia-mcpherson-2909.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-3LR","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8739,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/06\/29\/laughing-gulls-in-breeding-and-nonbreeding-plumage\/","url_meta":{"origin":14499,"position":0},"title":"Laughing Gulls in breeding and nonbreeding plumage","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 29, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Both of these Laughing Gull images were taken at Fort De Soto County Park's north beach in Florida, the image above shows a Laughing gull in nonbreeding plumage that was taken in September of 2008.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Nonbreeding Laughing Gull, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/laughing-gull-non-breeding-mia-mcpherson-0216.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/laughing-gull-non-breeding-mia-mcpherson-0216.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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widely.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Laughing Gull in breeding plumage in a blue lagoon, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/laughing-gull-in-blue-mia-mcpherson-6732.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/laughing-gull-in-blue-mia-mcpherson-6732.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/laughing-gull-in-blue-mia-mcpherson-6732.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/laughing-gull-in-blue-mia-mcpherson-6732.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The majority of you voted for the correct answer: Juvenile Herring Gull, 1st winter Laughing Gull and Royal Tern","rel":"","context":"In "American Herring Gulls"","block_context":{"text":"American Herring Gulls","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/gulls\/herring-gulls\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Royal Tern in breeding plumage with gift for mate, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/royal-tern-breeding-mia-mcpherson-6391.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/royal-tern-breeding-mia-mcpherson-6391.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/royal-tern-breeding-mia-mcpherson-6391.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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