The sooty gull (Larus hemprichii) is classified under family Laridae under the order Charadriiformes.
The sooty gull species are distributed in the coasts and inshore islands of Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf. Towards east, the distribution extends to Iranian coast and Pakistani coast. Southwards, they occur along the east coast of Africa as far south as Mozambique.
The sooty gull species occurs as a vagrant in India, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel and Bahrain. Its occurrence is recorded far away from the native range, in countries such as Sri Lanka and the Maldives. These coastal bird species, though seldom go far from coastline and coastal reefs, have occasionally been seen 140 km away from the land.
The sooty gull species inhabit subtropical and tropical mangrove growth, intertidal mudflats, tide pools, estuaries and creeks. They also inhabit rocky, sandy, pebbly and shingle shoreline and beaches, coral reefs, inter-reef land and lagoonal and subtidal regions. They forage in ports and harbours, the coastline, inshore islands, coral reefs and the intertidal zone.
These species have been evaluated by IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) and currently listed as "Least Concern". There is slow and steady decline in the total population size. The ongoing oil exploration activities, land reclamation for residential and commercial purposes and the possibility of oil spills are the imminent threats for the survival of these species.
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| 1.Sooty gull (Larus hemprichii) Photo by Donald Macauley |
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| 2.Photo by Baresi franco |
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| 3.Photo by logan kahle |
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| 4.Sooty gull (Larus hemprichii) Photo by Don Toofee |
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| 5.Photo by f.c.franklin |
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| 6.Photo by Peter Steward |
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| 7.Photo by sjahanmi |
1.Photo source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flickr_-_don_macauley_-_Laridae_standing_in_sea_water.jpg (cropped)
Photo author: Donald Macauley | License: CC BY-SA 2.0 as on 3/26/17
2.Photo source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ichthyaetus_hemprichii_Oman.jpg (cropped)
Author: Baresi franco | License: CC BY-SA 3.0
3.Photo source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ichthyaetus_hemprichii_Muscat,_Oman_1.jpg (cropped)
Author: logan kahle | License: CC BY 2.0 as on 3/26/17
4.Photo source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bird_%26_fish_(5166836560).jpg
Author: Don Toofee | License: CC BY 2.0 as on 3/26/17
5.Photo source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/franco_baresi/12616984453/ (cropped)
Author: f.c.franklin | License: CC BY-SA 2.0 as on 3/26/17
6.Photo source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/pete_steward/9936170135/ (cropped)
Author: Peter Steward | License: CC BY-NC 2.0 as on 3/26/17
7.Photo source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/55094802@N02/5112170718/ (cropped)
Author: sjahanmi | License: CC BY-NC 2.0 as on 3/26/17
Current topic in Birds of India: Sooty gull (Larus hemprichii) Photos.