The Belcher's Gull also known as the or Band-tailed Gull, is a gull

Gull

Gulls are birds in the family Laridae. They are most closely related to the terns and only distantly related to auks, skimmers, and more distantly to the waders...

 found along the Pacific coast of South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

. It formerly included the very similar Olrog's Gull

Olrog's Gull

Olrog's Gull is a species of gull found along the Atlantic coast of southern Brazil, Uruguay and northern Argentina. It was formerly considered a subspecies of the very similar L. belcheri. It is a medium-sized gull with a blackish mantle, white head and underparts, a black band in the otherwise...

 as a subspecies

Subspecies

Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...

. It is a medium-sized gull with a blackish mantle, white head and underparts, a black band in the otherwise white tail, and a yellow bill with a red and black tip. Non-breeding adults have a blackish head and a white eye-ring.

The name of this bird commemorates the British explorer Sir Edward Belcher

Edward Belcher

Admiral Sir Edward Belcher, KCB , was a British naval officer and explorer. He was the great-grandson of Governor Jonathan Belcher. His wife, Diana Jolliffe, was the stepdaughter of Captain Peter Heywood.-Early life:...

.