Franklin's
Gull
© 1990 Book of North American
Birds, Reader's Digest Books |
Size |
Medium |
Price |
| 15" x 15" |
Water Color |
$ 2,400 |
To purchase this painting go to "Purchases" |
| Franklin's
Gull |
Larus pipixcam |
13-15" (33-38 cm) |
| The Franklin's
Gull is a compact little gull that breeds on the northern prairies.
They range in the
breeding season from Saskatchewan and Manitoba south to Utah and east to Iowa. They winter
regularly offshore from Peru to Chile. This is a gregarious gull that nests in large
colonies. The nest is anchored in two to three feet of water to large floating platforms of dead reeds.
It is well maintained with nesting materials that are added throughout the time of
incubation and brooding. This gull is very wary on the breeding
grounds and will desert
the nest if too disturbed. Its diet consists of worms and often insects flushed by
agricultural equipment. The immense flocks, living mainly off
grasshoppers and other
destructive insects, were appreciated in the prayers of Brigham Young
who petitioned that they
be sent to destroy the grasshoppers that infested Utah. The chicks are
fed mainly
earthworms and remain in the nest for 25 to 30 days. |
|
