Black headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)

This one was interesting.These birds are winter visitors to Mumbai, though they are there year round in certain other parts of India. Though they're called black headed gulls, you wouldnt find one with a black head in Mumbai. The black head is their breeding plumage, and they breed in the summers, usually higher up in the north. The pictures taken at sewri, are when they are in Non-breeding plumage.

 Primarily white birds, with black bands on the wings tips and on the outer sides, and a black band on the tail. They also have a prominent black spot behind the eyes They usually flock together, i.e they are a highly gregarious species. When it comes to feeding, they would usually eat Fish, Insects, Crustaceans found near the shores but they are very diverse in their diet. They come close to crows, scavenging whatever they find edible. While at Sewri we even spotted a couple of them munching on some "Kurkure" that had fallen (or probably been thrown) onto the mudflats, only to be chased away by crows after barely a minute.

 Another very interesting thing we noticed was how these birds hovered in the air almost stationary, while facing away from the wind currents. They could maintain a stationary position in mid-air for at least 10 seconds, and thats the most I have ever seen any bird do. Fun birds to watch, they kept us entertained during both our visits.