Marine Wildlife Encyclopedia Herring Gull Larus argentatus
Noisy, assertive, and always on the lookout for a meal, the
herring gull is the most widespread gull in the Northern
Hemisphere. It has gray upperparts and black wingtips, and a
large yellow bill with a conspicuous red spot near the tip.
Young herring gulls are mottled brown, and it takes them three
years to develop the full adult plumage. Often seen in flocks,
herring gulls are highly adaptable birds, feeding on anything
edible that they can find. They rarely venture far out to sea,
but their range extends a long way inland, where they are often
associated with humans—following tractors to eat earthworms
turned up by the plow, or wheeling noisily over garbage dumps.
Herring gulls nest on the ground and on rooftops, typically
laying three eggs. They can be highly aggressive if their nests
are disturbed. Scavenging Herring Gulls Scavenged food forms a
large part of the herring gull’s diet, both on land and at sea.
This gull has benefited from urban exp