Species: Larus argentatus

Herring Gull
Species
    Kingdom
    Animalia
    Phylum
    Craniata
    Class

    Aves

    Order

    Charadriiformes

    Family

    Laridae

    Genus

    Larus

    Classification
    Other Global Common Names
    Gaviota Plateada - goéland argenté
    Informal Taxonomy
    Animals, Vertebrates - Birds - Other Birds
    Formal Taxonomy
    Animalia - Craniata - Aves - Charadriiformes - Laridae - Larus - (Snell 1991a). See Wilds (1992) for a brief discussion of the taxonomy of the herring gull complex.
    Migration
    true - true - true - Migrates north to northern breeding areas, arriving April-May (Bent 1921). Nonbreeders may not migrate. Migrants reach Costa Rica (mainly 1st and 2nd year birds) early November, most depart by mid-May (Stiles and Skutch 1989).
    Non-migrant
    true
    Locally Migrant
    true
    Food Comments
    Feeds opportunistically mostly on various animals and garbage. Often a scavenger around bays and harbors. In Ohio, Belant et al. (1993) found that nearby landfills were unimportant as a food source to a nesting population; diet of adults and young was dominated by fishes.
    Reproduction Comments
    Lays clutch of 2-3 eggs, mostly May-June in U.S. Incubation 25-33 days, mostly by female. Young tended by both parents, first fly at about. 6-7 weeks. Attains adult plumage in 4 years. May form female-female pairs. Nests usually in colonies.
    Ecology Comments
    Fox predation may result in reproductive failure of local breeding colonies (Southern et al. 1985).
    Length
    64
    Weight
    1226
    NatureServe Global Status Rank
    G5
    Global Status Last Reviewed
    1996-11-27
    Global Status Last Changed
    1996-11-27
    Other Status

    LC - Least concern

    Conservation Status Map
    <img src="http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/GetMapGif?CA.AB=S2&CA.BC=S4&CA.LB=S5&CA.MB=S5&CA.NB=S5&CA.NF=S5&CA.NT=S5&CA.NS=S4&CA.NU=SNR&CA.ON=S5&CA.PE=S3&CA.QC=S5&CA.SK=S5&CA.YT=S5&US.AL=__&US.AK=S5&US.AZ=__&US.AR=__&US.CA=__&US.CO=__&US.CT=S5&US.DE=S3&US.DC=__&US.FL=__&US.GA=S5&US.ID=__&US.IL=S2&US.IN=__&US.IA=__&US.KS=__&US.KY=__&US.LA=__&US.ME=S5&US.MD=S5&US.MA=S3&US.MI=S5&US.MN=SNR&US.MS=__&US.MO=__&US.MT=__&US.NN=__&US.NE=__&US.NV=__&US.NH=S5&US.NJ=S5&US.NM=__&US.NY=S5&US.NC=S4&US.ND=__&US.OH=S3&US.OK=__&US.OR=__&US.PA=__&US.RI=S3&US.SC=__&US.SD=__&US.TN=__&US.TX=S5&US.UT=__&US.VT=S4&US.VA=S4&US.WA=__&US.WV=__&US.WI=S4" alt="Conservation Status Map" style="width: 475px; height: auto;" />
    Global Range
    H - >2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles) - H - BREEDING: northern Alaska across northern Canada (including southern Baffin Island) to northern Labrador, south to British Columbia, central Saskatchewan, northern Wisconsin, northern Ohio, and northern New York, and along coast to North Carolina or South Carolina. NON-BREEDING: Aleutians, Great Lakes, and Newfoundland south to Panama (increasingly regular in southern Central America), West Indies; occasional to frequent in Hawaii. Nonbreeders widespread in summer throughout range. Also occurs in Old World.
    Global Range Code
    H
    Global Range Description
    >2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)
    ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.105038