From Opus

Larus heermanni

Photo by richard bledsoe
San Diego coast, California, USA, January 2004

Identification

Medium-sized Gull

• Grey body
• Blackish-grey wings and tail with white edges
• Red bill with black tip
• White head during breeding
  • Grey during non-breeding

Immature

Resemble non-breeding adults but are darker and browner, and the bill is flesh-coloured or pink till the second winter.

Immature Heermann's Gull
Photo by Ken Harper
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, November 2009

Distribution

United States and Mexico.

Taxonomy

Monotypic.

Habitat

Shores or well out to sea, very rarely inland.

Status

Classified as Near Threatened in the 2008 IUCN Red List.¹ The breeding range is severely restricted; 90% of the population breeds on a single Mexican island.

Behaviour

Breeding

Nests colonially on the ground, like many gulls. It lays two or three eggs, greyish buff to buff with grey and brown markings.

References

1. BirdLife International (2008) Species factsheet: Larus heermanni. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 12/9/2008.

External Links