India GO
Bird · Chroicocephalus brunnicephalus
Brown-headed gull
धोमरा (dhomra)
IUCN LC · Least concern
A medium grey-and-white gull that breeds on high Tibetan and Ladakhi lakes and spends the winter on India's rivers and coasts.
How to recognise it
In winter the head is white with a dark smudge behind the eye; the hood turns coffee-brown in spring. In flight the wingtip shows a white window ringed in black.
Where to see it
Varanasi
The gulls that wheel around the boats from November onwards breed on high lakes in Ladakh and Tibet. They are fed from the boats; conservation groups ask visitors not to, because bread and fried snacks are poor food for them.
Dashashwamedh Ghat · The Ganga by Rowing Boat: Assi to Ramnagar