Western Gull Identification

The Four Keys to ID

• Size & Shape

  A large, heavy-bodied gull with a thick neck, large head, and heavy bill with a thick tip.

  Relative Size

  Larger than a Herring Gull, smaller than a 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)
    • Wingspan: 47.2-56.7 in (120-144 cm)

• Color Pattern

  Breeding adults are white with black (or dark gray) back and upperwings, black primary feathers, yellow bill with red mark near the tip, and pale pink legs and feet. Eyes olive-yellow in southern subspecies, dark brown in northern. Juveniles are mottled sooty brown with blackish bill, grayish-pink legs and feet, and dark eye. Subadults have variable gray backs and brownish wings, with gray or pink legs; eyes variable.

• Behavior

  Eats birds, eggs, nestlings, fish, invertebrates, carrion, and trash. This versatile forager captures prey while swimming, in mid-flight, or while searching on foot on the beach. Readily follows marine mammals and joins large mixed-species seabird flocks. Scavenges around fishing boats, at fish-processing plants, and occasionally at landfills.

• Habitat

  Breeds on islands, headlands, abandoned piers, and similar maritime locations. Forages along sandy and rocky beaches, in kelp beds, at sea, and occasionally at landfills.