Summer is one of the best times of year to compare two of our most elegant gulls. At first glance, black-headed gulls and Mediterranean gulls can look remarkably similar, especially when both are sporting their breeding plumage.
But look a little closer and there are a few tell-tale features that make separating them much easier.
Spotting the difference: summer plumage
Perhaps the easiest place to start is with the head pattern. Despite its name, the black-headed gull doesn’t actually have a black head at all. In summer, adults develop a rich chocolate-brown mask which covers the face but often looks slightly angled and less complete around the back of the head.
A black-headed gull with its dark brown ‘mask’ and slender bill
A Med gull with its jet-black ‘hood’ and sturdy bright bill
The Mediterranean gull, by contrast, sports a striking jet-black hood. This extends neatly around the entire head, giving the bird a cleaner, more dramatic appearance. When seen side-by-side, the difference between the dark brown “mask” of the black-headed gull and the deep black “hood” of the Mediterranean gull is surprisingly obvious.
The bill provides another useful clue. Black-headed gulls have a relatively slender, delicate bill which is dark red in colour. Mediterranean gulls have a noticeably thicker, more robust bill, often appearing brighter and heavier set. Once you’ve become familiar with the difference, the bill shape can be one of the quickest ways to identify them, even at a distance.
Check the wingtips
Another excellent rule of thumb is to look at the wings. Adult Mediterranean gulls have clean white wingtips which give them a very distinctive appearance in flight. Black-headed gulls, on the other hand, show obvious black on their wingtips.
A Med gull with white wing tips
A black-headed gull with black wing tips
This feature is particularly helpful when birds are flying overhead or resting on shore with their wings folded.
However, there is one important caveat. Young Mediterranean gulls don’t gain those pristine white wingtips immediately. For the first few years of their lives, they can retain black markings on the wing tips, which can lead to confusion.
This young Mediterranean gull spotted by Ranger Eloise on the Oysterbeds at Hayling Island shows exactly why age matters when identifying gulls. While it already has the heavier bill and and jet-black hood of a Mediterranean gull, the black wing markings are a reminder that not all individuals fit the textbook description.
What about winter?
As the breeding season comes to an end, both species undergo a dramatic transformation.
Black-headed gulls lose their chocolate-brown mask altogether, leaving a mostly white head with just a small dark smudge behind the eye, often described as an “ear spot”. This neat winter look is familiar to many people and often comes as a surprise to those expecting the bird to have a black head all year round.
Mediterranean gulls also lose their jet-black hood in winter, becoming predominantly white-headed birds. Adults usually retain a subtle dark eye marking, along with their characteristic bright bill and clean white wing tips.
Although black-headed gulls are a common sight throughout the winter, Mediterranean gulls are much less frequently encountered. Along our coast they are largely summer visitors, arriving to breed before dispersing more widely once the nesting season has ended.
Listen as well as look
Your ears can provide another useful clue. Black-headed gulls give the familiar, laughing “kree-ar” or “kee-ow” calls that many people associate with a bustling seaside gull colony. Their voice is relatively harsh and raucous.
Med gulls sound quite different. Their call is often described as a nasal, drawn-out “yeah” or “yehh”, giving a much more plaintive and almost cat-like quality. Once you’ve heard it a few times, it becomes surprisingly distinctive and can alert you to the presence of a Med gull even in a large flock of black-headed gulls.
For birdwatchers checking mixed groups along the coast, learning the calls can be just as valuable as memorising plumage features.
So next time you spot a gull and find yourself wondering which species you’re looking at, remember the key features: brown mask or black hood, slim bill or chunky bill, black wingtips or white wingtips, laughing call or cat call. With a little practice, these two often-confused gulls become surprisingly easy to tell apart.
And finally, here’s a beautiful photo of a black-headed gull chick which was spotted by Ranger Eloise this summer.
