American Herring Gull Identification

The Four Keys to ID

• Size & Shape

  American Herring Gulls are large gulls with hefty bills and robust bodies. In flight, they look barrel-chested and broad-winged compared to smaller species such as Ring-billed Gulls.

  Relative Size

  Larger than a Ring-billed Gull, smaller than Western or Great Black-backed Gull.

  between crow and goose

  Measurements

  • Both Sexes
  • • Length: 22.1-26.0 in (56-66 cm)
    • Weight: 28.2-44.1 oz (800-1250 g)

  © Louis Bevier / Macaulay Library

• Color Pattern

  Adults have light-gray backs, black wingtips, and white heads and underparts. In winter, dusky streaks mark their heads. American Herring Gulls take four years to reach adult plumage. Juveniles are mottled brown; second-year birds are brown but show gray on the back. Third-years have more gray on the back and more white on the head and underparts. The legs are dull pink at all ages.

• Behavior

  American Herring Gulls patrol shorelines and open ocean, picking scraps off the surface. Rallying around fishing boats or refuse dumps, they are loud and competitive scavengers, happy to snatch another bird's meal. They spend much of their time perched near food sources, often in congregations of gulls.

• Habitat

  Look for American Herring Gulls in winter along coasts and near large reservoirs, lakes, and major rivers. They feed in habitats as diverse as open water, mudflats, plowed fields, and garbage dumps, and gather in almost any open space near food. In summer, they’re most likely to be seen along the Atlantic Coast, Great Lakes, and coastal Alaska; they also breed across Canada's boreal forest.