From Opus

Larus heermanni

Photo by richard bledsoe
Photo taken at San Diego coast, California, USA

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

(Immature, Heermann's Gull)
Photo by gophish (Ken Harper)
Taken in Puerto Vallarta Mexico

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