Franklin's gull

American  

noun

1. a black-headed North American gull, Larus pipixcan, feeding chiefly on insects.

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Etymology

Origin of Franklin's gull

1855–60, named after Sir John Franklin

Example Sentences

That in fact his next stop is “the sewage ponds” across town, where he is after a certain species, Franklin’s gull, named after Sir John Franklin, a polar explorer who died of scurvy in 1847.

From Los Angeles Times

They come in search of watch-listed species like the Western snowy plover, long-billed curlew, Franklin’s gull and Brewer’s sparrow, along with hundreds of other more common species like the white-faced ibis.

From New York Times

In the West the Franklin's Gull follows the farmer in the fields and picks up great numbers of destructive insects.

From Project Gutenberg