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CoastalCavity nestLarge · 1.1 kg
What the American Herring Gull sounds like
ID tip
The herring gull is a heavily built large gull with a long powerful bill, full chest and sloping forehead. Males are 60–66 cm (24–26 in) long and weigh 1,050–1,650 g (2.31–3.64 lb). Females are 53–62 cm (21–24 in) long and weigh 600–900 g (1.3–2.0 lb). The wingspan is 120 to 155 cm (47 to 61 in). Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 41.2 to 46.8 cm (16.2 to 18.4 in), the bill is 4.4 to 6.2 cm (1.7 to 2.4 in) and the tarsus is 5.5 to 7.6 cm (2.2 to 3.0 in). Breeding adults have a white head, rump, tail, and underparts and a pale gray back and upperwings. Voice: It has no song but possesses a variety of cries and calls. An initial call in response to a threat is a quick "hahaha", varying in intensity depending on the threat. The more-intense "keow" is a loud yet short alarm call that is both identifying and communicative of impending danger. The "long call" is a series of loud notes during which the head is dipped and then raised.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
When to see the American Herring Gull
One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is January, the month with the most records.
Where to see the American Herring Gull
The map shades 35 countries with regular records, and 12 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.
Recorded as a rare visitor in United Kingdom, France, Taiwan, Iceland, Poland, Martinique, St. Martin, Barbados, St. Barthélemy, St. Kitts & Nevis, South Korea, Sweden.
About the American Herring Gull
The American herring gull, also known as the Arctic herring gull or Smithsonian gull, is a large gull that breeds in North America, where it is treated by the American Ornithological Society as a subspecies of herring gull.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Easily confused with
Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscusThe lesser black-backed gull is smaller than the European herring gull.
European Herring GullLarus argentatusThe male European herring gull is 60–67 cm (24–26 in) long and weighs 1,050–1,525 g (2.315–3.362 lb), while the female is 55–62 cm (22–24 in) and weighs 710–1,100 g (1.57–2.43 lb).
Great Black-backed GullLarus marinusThis is the largest gull in the world, considerably larger than a herring gull (Larus argentatus); only two other gulls, glaucous gull (Larus hyperboreus) and Pallas's gull (Ichthyaetus ichthyaetus), come close to matching this species in size.
Side by side: American Herring Gull vs Ring-billed Gull · American Herring Gull vs Lesser Black-backed Gull · American Herring Gull vs European Herring Gull · American Herring Gull vs Great Black-backed Gull
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