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European Herring Gull

European Herring Gull

Larus argentatus

Identify the European Herring Gull by sound or photo and log your sightings with Birdpass.

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The European Herring Gull is a large, familiar gull of northern and western Europe, found on coasts, inland waters and in towns. Adults are white-headed with a pale grey back, black wingtips with white “mirrors”, a yellow bill with a red spot and usually pink legs. An adaptable opportunist, it thrives on natural foods and human leftovers alike, and its loud, laughing calls are an iconic seaside sound. Many populations are resident, while northern birds move south in winter.

Did you know?

  • It belongs to a “ring species” complex around the Northern Hemisphere.
  • It is a “four-year gull”, taking about four years to reach adult plumage.

Voice

Call
Flight call

About the species

Identification

The adult is a pale-backed gull: evenly pale grey upperparts, white head and breast, a yellow bill with a red spot and usually pinkish legs; in winter the head is streaked grey. Young birds are mottled white, brown and grey and resemble other large young gulls; they take four years to reach adult plumage. Told from Lesser Black-backed Gull by its much paler back and pink rather than yellow legs.

Family

Laridae

Size

Large (crow)

Colours

white, grey, black, yellow, red

About the habitat

Coasts, estuaries, harbours and islands, as well as large lakes, rivers, fields, landfills and towns.

Diet

Omnivorous: fish, crustaceans, molluscs, earthworms, carrion, eggs and chicks, some plant matter and human refuse; it readily steals food.

Behaviour

Noisy and gregarious, it nests in colonies on cliffs, islets and rooftops and defends the nest vigorously. It often follows fishing boats, scavenges at harbours and landfills and drops shellfish from a height to crack them open. Its territorial “long call” starts with the head bowed and ends with it thrown back.

Sources

Photo: Kulac, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Larus argentatus01.jpg

Sound: Sonothèque ADVL, XC953928, CC0 1.0 https://xeno-canto.org/953928

Sound: Sonothèque ADVL, XC707075, CC0 1.0 https://xeno-canto.org/707075

Text: Wikipedia (English) + FinBIF species descriptions, CC BY-SA 4.0; FinBIF: CC BY 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_herring_gull

See also