Sooty Gull Larus hemprichii

This species is endemic to the seas around Arabian Peninsula and it is widely distributed and most common gull in the Red Sea Islands and coasts, with distinctive brown and white plumage. Sooty gull are common scavenger on beaches, around fisherman and ships, in harbours on rubbish-tips, but it will also catch fish from the sea surface in flight or whilst swimming. It nests on islands from June to September, in a bare scrape, occasionally decorated with dry seaweeds and broken shills.