Species: Larus argentatus
Herring Gull
Species
Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Craniata
Class
Aves
Order
Charadriiformes
Family
Laridae
Genus
Larus
NatureServe
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.
Ecology and Life History
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
Conservation Status
NatureServe Global Status Rank
G5
Global Status Last Reviewed
1996-11-27
Global Status Last Changed
1996-11-27
Other Status
LC - Least concern
Distribution
Conservation Status Map
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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)