Abstract

Rooftop-nesting by Mediterranean Gulls Ichthyaetus melanocephalus is rare, with the species typically breeding on small islands in wetland areas. This paper presents details of records of rooftop nesting by Mediterranean Gulls in Russia, Belarus, Poland and Germany.IntroductionRooftop-breeding is common, and becoming increasingly so, in many species of gull, such as Herring Gull Larus argentatus, Lesser Black-backed Gull L. fuscus and Common Gull L. canus. However, the phenomenon remains rare in the Mediterranean Gull Ichthyaetus melanocephalus, with the species typically breeding on small islands in wetland areas. This paper presents details of known rooftop nesting or nesting attempts by Mediterranean Gulls in Russia, Belarus, Poland and Germany.ObservationsRussiaThe first-ever reported observation of a Mediterranean Gull nesting on a roof anywhere was made in May 1998, on the flat roof of a textile factory in the city of Noginsk, east-northeast of Moscow, on the banks of the Klyazma River and close to the city centre (Zubakin 2001). The roof was 6 ha in area and held three pairs of Mediterranean Gulls, all of which had nests with eggs, plus an apparently unpaired adult bird without a nest. The roof also held 150–170 pairs of Common Gulls and four pairs of Herring Gulls. Two Mediterranean Gull nests were located 2.7 m apart, both on a patch of grassy vegetation that had formed on the roof, while the third nest was located on an open area of bare roof, 18.5 m from the other two. The nests were larger than the surrounding ?ommon Gull nests, and the Mediterranean Gull chicks hatched about a week later than the Common Gull chicks, in early June. In 1999, about 300 pairs of ?ommon Gulls and 15–20 pairs of Herring Gulls bred in this colony, but only one pair of Mediterranean Gulls and another non-breeding adult were observed there in early June. It is possible that the rapid increase in large gulls in the area led to this decline in Mediterranean Gulls at the site (Viktor Zubakin pers. comm.). No more-recent cases of rooftop-nesting by Mediterranean Gulls are known from the site (Zubakin 2020), nor from anywhere else in Russia.