Audouins Gull

Ichthyaetus Audouinii is a large gull restricted to the Mediterranean and the western coast of Sahara Africa.

In the late 1960’s, this was one of the World’s rarest gulls with a population of only 1,000 pairs. It has established new colonies but remains rare with a population of about 10,000 pairs.

Unlike many large gulls, Audouins Gull rarely scavenges but is a specialist fish eater, strictly coastal and pelagic.

This bird will feed at night often well out to sea, but it also slowly patrols close into beaches.

In Cyprus it breeds colonially on small islands off the Karpaz Peninsula.