Herring Gull

Larus argentatus

Family:

Gulls and terns

Length:

54cm to 60cm

Wingspan:

130cm to 150cm

Weight:

690g to 1.44kg

About the Herring Gull

The herring gull is a large member of the gull family, which can be found all year round on our coasts and inland around refuse sites, reservoirs, lakes (especially during winter) and fields. They are also rather noisy characters.

Adults have white underparts, light grey backs and black tips on their wings. They have pink legs, with webbed feet and large, ever so slightly hooked bills that have a red spot. Younger birds have a mottled brown plumage.

What does a Herring Gull eat?

Herring Gulls are omnivorous, which means their diets consist of things like young birds, eggs, fish, small mammals, carrion, offal, fruits and seeds - pretty much anything!

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Other birds in the Gulls and terns family

Audouin’s Gull

Named in honour of the French naturalist and ornithologist, Jean Victor Audouin (1797 – 1841) the Audouin’s gull is one of the world’s rarest and is limited in the main to regions within and surrounding the Mediterranean Sea.

Yellow-Legged Gull

Sandwich Tern

Roseate Tern

Mediterranean Gull

Little Tern

Little Gull

Lesser Black-Backed Gull

Kittiwake

Iceland Gull

Great Black-Backed Gull

Glaucous Gull

Common Tern

Terns are water birds from the family Sternidae and are expert fish catchers. There are generally considered to be forty five separate species of terns worldwide. Generally smaller than gulls but with long tails, thin bodies and short legs, they are long distance migrants.

Common Gull

There are four sub-species of the common gull with the European variant being the nominate. The other three are the Russian, Kamchatka and American, which are all predominantly confined to the geographical region attributed by their name. There are subtle differences in plumage and overall size of bird between sub-species.

Black-Headed Gull

The title of Black-headed Gull is rather a misnomer for this bird as its head is not black but a dark brown colour and only in adult birds during the breeding season. It is not present during the winter months or in other plumages. Unlike many gulls it is not restricted to coastal regions and is widespread inland in both rural and urban areas.