What is most commonly referred to as the Carolina Gull is the Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla). Laughing Gulls can be typically observed swirling over beaches like Springmaid and Myrtle Beach in South Carolina. Laughing Gulls provide sights and sounds evocative of summer on the East Coast. Large numbers of these Gulls at beaches, docks, and parking lots, where they wait for handouts or fill the air with their raucous calls.
In the Northeast, Laughing Gulls are summer visitors. However, in the Southeast and along the Gulf of Mexico they can be spotted year round along the coasts.
Some interesting cool facts about Laughing Gulls are:
- The male and female Laughing Gull usually build their nest together.
- The Laughing Gull is normally diurnal, or active during the day. During the breeding season it forages at night as well.
- The adult Laughing Gull removes the eggshells from the nest after the eggs hatch.
- The oldest known Laughing Gull was at least 22 years old when it was killed in Maine in 2009, the same state where it had been banded in 1987.
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