About the Heermann's Gull
Heermann's gull is a gull resident in the United States, Mexico and extreme southwestern British Columbia, nearly all nesting on Isla Rasa in the Gulf of California. They are usually found near shores or well out to sea, very rarely inland. The species is named after Adolphus Lewis Heermann, nineteenth-century explorer and naturalist.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
ID tip
This species looks distinctly different from other gulls. Adults have a medium gray body, blackish-gray wings and tail with white edges, and a red bill with a black tip. The head is dusky gray in non-breeding plumage and white in breeding plumage. Immatures resemble non-breeding adults but are darker and browner, and the bill is pink till the second winter. A few birds, no more than 1 in 200, have white primary coverts, which form a showy spot on the upper wing.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where the Heermann's Gull lives
When to see the Heermann's Gull
Peak activity in September · a variable species across most of its range
Easily confused with
Iceland GullLarus glaucoidesThe Iceland gull is a medium-sized gull, although relatively slender and light in weight.
Glaucous GullLarus hyperboreusThis is a large and powerful gull, second-largest of all gull species and very pale in all plumage, with no black on either the wings or the tail.
Short-billed GullLarus brachyrhynchusThe short-billed gull has a length 40–45 cm (16–18 in) and a wingspan 100–120 cm (39–47 in).
Side by side: Heermann's Gull vs Kelp Gull · Heermann's Gull vs Short-billed Gull · Heermann's Gull vs Iceland Gull · Glaucous Gull vs Heermann's Gull
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