Herring Gull
Herring Gull: Large gull, pale gray back and wings with black tips, white head, neck breast. White tail and underparts. Bill is yellow with red spot near tip; legs are pink. Strong steady flight with deep wing beats. Soars on thermals and updrafts. Most widespread North American Gull.
● Song:
"kuk-kuk-kuk", "yucca-yucca-yucca"
● Foraging & Feeding:
Herring Gull: Feeds mostly on aquatic invertebrates and small fish; gleans the ground for insects and worms; scavenges dead fish and garbage at landfills; also eats bird eggs and young.
● Breeding & nesting:
Herring Gull: Two to three gray, green, blue, or brown eggs with brown, lavender, and black streaks are laid in a shallow ground scrape lined with plants and sticks. Incubation ranges from 23 to 27 days and is carried out by both parents.
● Similar species:
Herring Gull: California Gull is larger, has pink legs, yellow eyes, paler back, and thicker yellow bill. Ring-billed Gull is much smaller, has yellow legs, and a complete black ring on the bill.
● Range & Habitat:
Herring Gull: Breeds from Alaska east across northern Canada to Maritime Provinces, south to British Columbia, north-central Canada, and Great Lakes, and along Atlantic coast to North Carolina. Winters in all but its northernmost breeding areas; also along coasts, rivers, and lakes in the southeast and west from southern Alaska south to Baja California; also found in Eurasia. Nests on open beaches, islands, or shorelines; stays on large lakes, wetlands, rivers, landfills and public areas during migration and winter.