- Andean Gull
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Andean Gull 
Conservation status Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Charadriiformes Family: Laridae Genus: Chroicocephalus Species: C. serranus Binomial name Chroicocephalus serranus
(Tschudi, 1844)Synonyms Larus serranus
The Andean Gull (Chroicocephalus serranus) is a species of gull in the Laridae family. As is the case with many gulls, it has traditionally been placed in the genus Larus. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
Gulls in Southern Bolivia
At 45-48 cm (18-19 in) long, it is large for a black-headed gull (it is the largest gull with that kind of plumage in the Americas). Its natural habitat is unusual in that it is known to inhabit very high elevations, usually no lower than 3,000 m. At the elevation, it may be variously found around rivers, freshwater lakes, saline marshes, and pastureland. It feeds on a variety of prey items including insects and worms taken on fields and grasslands; it also catches aerial insects and eats some garbage when available. The Andean Gull nests in small scattered colonies, sometimes even as solitary pairs, in small, isolated ponds.
References
- "The Birds of Ecuador" by Robert S. Ridgely & Paul Greenfield. Cornell University Press (2001), ISBN 978-0801487224.
- BirdLife International 2004. Larus serranus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 24 July 2007.
- Pons J.M., Hassanin, A., and Crochet P.A.(2005). Phylogenetic relationships within the Laridae (Charadriiformes: Aves) inferred from mitochondrial markers. Molecular phylogenetics and evolution 37(3):686-699
Gulls (family: Laridae) Genus Larus Pacific Gull • Belcher's Gull • Olrog's Gull • Black-tailed Gull • Heermann's Gull • Common Gull (or Mew Gull) • Ring-billed Gull • California Gull • Great Black-backed Gull • Kelp Gull (or Cape Gull) • Glaucous-winged Gull • Western Gull • Yellow-footed Gull • Glaucous Gull • Iceland Gull • Kumlien's Gull • Thayer's Gull • European Herring Gull • Heuglin's Gull • American Herring Gull • Yellow-legged Gull • Caspian Gull • Vega Gull (or East Siberian Gull / Mongolian Gull) • Armenian Gull • Slaty-backed Gull • Lesser Black-backed GullIchthyaetus Leucophaeus Chroicocephalus Saundersilarus Hydrocoloeus Rhodostethia Rissa Pagophila Xema Creagrus 
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