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10

American Herring Gull (Larus smithsonianus) Alternate name(s): "Smithsonian Gull" (race "smithsonianus") German name(s): "Kanadamöwe" Size: 60-66 cm (male), 53-62 cm (female); wing span: 1.20-1.55 m Weight: 1.05-1.65 kg (male), 0.6-0.9 kg (female)

Europe: Family Group 10 Family Group 10 Table Great Skua Caspian Gull Great Black-backed Gull Lesser Black-backed Gull American Herring Gull European Herring Gull Yellow-legged Gull Audouin's Gull Slender-billed Gull Iceland Gull Common Gull Ring-billed Gull Black-headed Gull Bonaparte's Gull Mediterranean Gull Little Gull Sabine's Gull Black-legged Kittiwake Caspian Tern Sandwich Tern Gull-billed Tern Common Tern Arctic Tern Little Tern Forster's Tern Whiskered Tern Black Tern White-winged Black Tern Atlantic Puffin Razorbill Common Guillemot Black Guillemot Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names European birds home page

Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description American Herring Gulls are large, white-headed gulls. They have the palest-grey upperparts compared to other large, white-headed gulls. They take four years to reach maturity, so there are five different phases of plumage. During the breeding season, adult American Herring Gulls have an all-white head and front. The belly can have a pale-grey tinge. The wings are grey with black tips on the outer primaries, which also have pale-grey spots on them. In-flight the wings show white trailing edges. The tail is white. In eclipse the head (especially the sides) and the neck are streaked mid- to dark-grey, but otherwise, except for wear and tear, the plumage remains the same. Their most prominent (but not unique!) feature is the strong, yellow bill with a red spot near the tip of the lower mandible and a light-grey tip. The irises are pale-grey. The legs and feet are fleshy-pink. Twitcher's tip As opposed to other species of large, white-headed Gulls, the spots on the wing tips of American Herring Gulls are GREY, not white.

Taxonomy, classification See American Herring Gull at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the American Herring Gull is available HERE . American Herring Gulls are a mostly migratory species that is normally found only in North America (nominate race "smithsonianus") and far eastern Asia (the "East Siberian Gull, race "vegae"). Sedentary populations of nominate race "smithsonianus" exist along the North American East coast, from Maine to the Carolinas, in an area between and along the South side of the Great Lakes and on the West coast from the far-northern coastline of British Columbia, Canada, via southern Alaska to the Aleutian island chain. Elsewhere American Herring Gulls, race "smithsonianus", are migratory. Their breeding range encompasses sub-Arctic continental Canada, except the south-western corner of the country, the far North-west of the US (down to Maine) and much of Alaska. They overwinter along both coastlines of the North American continent, from the southern boundary of their breeding range to roughly the equator. On the East coast their winter range extends as far as Yucatan in Mexico and the islands of the Caribbean. For details on race "vegae" refer to a field guide. American Herring Gulls come to the western European coastline only as rare vagrants. Sightings have been reported from Ireland, western Britain, the Gulf of Biscaye and the North and West coast of Iberia.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "smithsonianus" G. Pinelas reports spotting American Herring Gulls, nominate race "smithsonianus", in the port of Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, in April 2017, February 2018 and again in January/February 2019. G. Pinelas and J. Pires found another American Herring Gull, nominate race "smithsonianus", in the port of Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, in March 2019.

Photos

Race "smithsonianus"

ADULT

Sex unknown

BREEDING

Near-lateral view of an American Herring Gull in breeding plumage, with in the background a number of second and third calendar year Lesser Black-backed Gulls (photo courtesy of G. Pinelas)
[Port of Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, April 2017]

Lateral view of an American Herring Gull in breeding plumage, with in the background a number of second and third calendar year Lesser Black-backed Gulls (photo courtesy of G. Pinelas)
[Port of Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, April 2017]

Lateral view of an American Herring Gull in breeding plumage; note the pale-grey upperparts
(photo courtesy of G. Pinelas)
[Port of Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, April 2017]

Lateral view of an American Herring Gull in (near-)breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Port of Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, March 2019]

Lateral view of a preening American Herring Gull in (near-)breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Port of Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, March 2019]

NON-BREEDING

Lateral view of an American Herring Gull in non-breeding plumage, centre, amongst other gulls - the grey blotches on head and neck are indicative of eclipse plumage (photo courtesy of G. Pinelas)
[Port of Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, January 2019]

Lateral view of an American Herring Gull in non-breeding plumage stretching a wing - note the pattern of primary spots
(photo courtesy of G. Pinelas)
[Port of Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, February 2018]

Lateral view of an American Herring Gull in non-breeding plumage stretching a wing and a leg - note the pattern of primary spots (photo courtesy of G. Pinelas)
[Port of Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, February 2019]

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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