- Larus argentatus
Identification
55-66cm. Breeding Adult
- Grey back and upperwings
- White head
- White below
- Black wing tips with white spots
- Bare yellow eye ring
- Yellow bill with red spot
- Pink legs
Non Breeding Adult
- Brown streaks on head and neck
Juvenile
- Brown with dark streaks
- Dark bill
- Dark iris
Second-winter bird
- Whiter head and underparts
- Grey back
Similar Species
American Herring Gull is larger and paler than the European counterpart.
Distribution
Breeds widely across Northern Europe from Iceland and the Faroes to northern Scandinavia and Arctic Russia, reaching south to the British Isles and France east to Germany, Poland, Belarus and the Baltic States. Has recently been recorded breeding in a Yellow-legged Gull colony in northern Spain.
Mainly resident or dispersive, except in north Norway, the Baltic, Finland and northern Russia where migratory.
Widespread in winter in Western and Central Europe.
Has bred on Svalbard and Bear Island.
Occasionally hybridises with other species, eg Lesser Black-back, and particularly Glaucous Gull in Iceland.
Taxonomy
This species formerly included a number of species including American Herring Gull, Vega Gull. Mongolian Gull, Yellow-legged Gull, Caspian Gull, and Armenian Gull.
Subspecies
Clements recognizes these subspecies[1]:
- L. a. argentatus in Scandinavia and extreme northwest Russia, winters in northern and western Europe
- L. a. argenteus in northwest Europe, winters to northern Spain
Habitat
Breeds mainly along rocky coastlines on cliffs, stacks and islands, in some areas on buildings or on flatter areas of shore and in others at inland lakes. Mainly coastal when not breeding but increasingly in urban areas and on farmland. Abundant at refuse-tips and around fishing harbours.
Behaviour
Diet
They are scavengers; they will also take eggs and young birds.
Breeding
They are colony nesters. 2-4 olive eggs are laid on the ground or cliff ledges and are incubated for 28-30 days.
Vocalisation
<flashmp3>Larus argentatus (song).mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program
References
- Clements, J. F., P. C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, M. Smith, and C. L. Wood. 2024. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2024. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Gill, F, D Donsker, and P Rasmussen (Eds). 2024. IOC World Bird List (v 14.2). Doi 10.14344/IOC.ML.14.2. http://www.worldbirdnames.org/
- Wikipedia
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) European Herring Gull. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 1 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/European_Herring_Gull
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
