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laughing gull
noun
: an American gull (Larus atricilla) having a black head in breeding plumage and black wing tips blending into the gray upper side of the wings
Examples of laughing gull in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The sandpipers had already migrated, and the laughing gulls were long gone.
—Latria Graham, Travel + Leisure, 19 Jan. 2024
Investigators told the station that the injured seagull described as a laughing gull was later euthanized because of a broken wing.
—Garfield Hylton, Orlando Sentinel, 5 May 2022
Two little gulls and a lingering laughing gull in Westport Harbor, a greater yellowlegs in Dartmouth and a flock of 16 red crossbills in the Freetown-Fall River State Forest.
—Isabela Rocha, BostonGlobe.com, 10 Dec. 2022
In Hampshire County, notable sightings at the Oxbow Marina included a black-bellied plover, a ruddy turnstone, a whimbrel, and a laughing gull.
—BostonGlobe.com, 28 Aug. 2021
Wachusett Reservoir hosted 16 common mergansers, three Bonaparte’s gulls, a laughing gull, and a common tern.
—BostonGlobe.com, 28 Aug. 2021
Also affected: Up to 32 percent of laughing gulls and up to a quarter of all brown pelicans.
—National Geographic, 17 Apr. 2020
Sightings at Race Point in Provincetown included a royal tern, 5 parasitic jaegers, 1,100 laughing gulls, 2 least terns, 175 roseate terns, 2,800 common terns, 4 species of shearwater, and 2 common ravens.
—BostonGlobe.com, 24 Sep. 2019
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'laughing gull.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1731, in the meaning defined above
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Cite this Entry
“Laughing gull.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/laughing%20gull. Accessed 23 May. 2024.
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