American Herring Gull
American Herring Gull
Larus smithsonianus
At a Glance
Large, abundant, and widespread, the American Herring Gull is among the most familiar members of its family, especially in the Northeast. In recent decades, it has been extending its range toward the south along the Atlantic Coast. In the West, where there are several similar large gulls, no such range expansion seems to be taking place.
All bird guide text and rangemaps adapted from by Kenn Kaufman© 1996, used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Category
Gull-like Birds, Gulls and Terns
IUCN Status
Least Concern
Habitat
Coasts and Shorelines, Fields, Meadows, and Grasslands, Freshwater Wetlands, Lakes, Ponds, and Rivers, Landfills and Dumps, Open Ocean, Saltwater Wetlands, Urban and Suburban Habitats
Region
Alaska and The North, California, Eastern Canada, Florida, Great Lakes, Mid Atlantic, New England, Northwest, Plains, Rocky Mountains, Southeast, Southwest, Texas, Western Canada
Behavior
Direct Flight, Flap/Glide, Hovering, Soaring, Swimming
Population
3.900.000
Range & Identification
Migration & Range Maps
Present year-round as far north as New England, Great Lakes, southern Alaska. Some move south as far as Mexico, a few to West Indies and Panama. Young birds tend to migrate farther south in winter than adults.
Description
Sexes similar — Length: 22 in–2 ft 2 in (56–66 cm); wingspan: 3 ft 11 in–4 ft 11 in (120–150 cm); weight: 1 lb 12 oz–2 lb 12 oz (800–1250 g). The Adult American Herring Gull has white spots in black wingtips, pale eyes, and pink legs. The relatively heavy bill is yellow with a red spot. The head of the adult is white in spring and summer, heavily streaked gray-brown in winter. Immature all dark brown with a blackish bill at first. Reaches adult plumage in the fourth winter.
Size
About the size of a Mallard or Herring Gull
Color
Black, Brown, Gray, Pink, Red, White, Yellow
Wing Shape
Pointed, Tapered
Tail Shape
Rounded, Short, Square-tipped
Songs and Calls
Loud rollicking call, kuk-kuk-kuk, yucca-yucca-yucca, and other raucous cries.
Call Pattern
Falling, Undulating
Call Type
Raucous, Scream
Habitat
Ocean coasts, bays, beaches, lakes, piers, farmlands, and dumps. The American Herring Gull occupies a wide variety of habitats, typically associated with water. Most numerous along the coast, large lakes, and major river systems. Forages at sea, on beaches, mudflats, plowed fields, marshes, or where human activity provides food (garbage dumps, picnic grounds, docks, fishing operations). Nests on islands, sometimes on gravel roofs.
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Behavior
Eggs
3, sometimes 1-2, rarely 4. Buff to olive, blotched with black, brown, dark olive. Incubation is by both sexes, 27-30 days.
Young
May leave nest a day or two after hatching, remain in immediate area. Both parents feed young, by regurgitation. Young capable of flight 45-50 days after hatching, may be fed by parents for another month.
Feeding Behavior
Opportunistic. The American Herring Gull forages while walking, swimming, or flying, dipping down to take items from the surface of water or land, sometimes plunge-diving into water. It may steal food from other birds. It may also carry hard-shelled items (such as crabs and mollusks) high in the air and drop them on rocks to break them open.
Diet
Omnivorous. The American Herring Gull's diet varies with place and season, and includes fish, crustaceans, mollusks, sea urchins, marine worms, birds, eggs, and insects. Scavenges refuse and carrion. At sea, they may feed on schools of fish driven to the surface by foraging whales.
Nesting
Usually first breeds at the age of 4-5 years. Nests in colonies (often with other species of gulls), sometimes in isolated pairs. In courtship, the female American Herring Gull approaches the male with a hunched posture and begging calls; the male displays with an upright posture, "choking" motions, and feeds the female. Nest site on the ground, next to an object such as a shrub or a rock, protects from the prevailing wind. Nest (built by both sexes) is a shallow scrape, usually lined with grass, feathers, and debris.
Conservation
Conservation Status
Numbers of American Herring Gull declined sharply during 19th century when hunted for eggs and feathers. With protection, it has increased greatly during 20th century, expanding breeding range far to the south along the Atlantic Coast.
Climate Threats Facing the American Herring Gull
Choose a temperature scenario below to see which threats will affect this species as warming increases. The same climate change-driven threats that put birds at risk will affect other wildlife and people, too.
