Page 211 - Complete Birds of Britain and Europe (DK - RSPB)

SKUAS, GULLS,AND TERNS
Order Charadriiformes Family Laridae Species Larus argentatus
Herring Gull yellow bill with
red spot
pure white
head
white spots pale area behind
on black bend of wing
wingtips in flight
brown pale grey
blotched back
body
IMMATURE

ADULT ADULT
(WINTER) (SUMMER)
grey-brown-
streaked
head ADULT pale pink
IN FLIGHT legs
(SUMMER)

ADULT
(WINTER)
SUBSPECIES
ften considered a nuisance in
Otowns, where it breeds on rooftops FLIGHT: steady, powerful, with continual easy L. a. argentatus
and begins calling very loudly, early on wingbeats; masterly soaring, gliding. (Scandinavia)
summer mornings, the Herring Gull has winter
larger,
actually declined over much of Europe. It is mainly darker
a bird of sea cliffs in summer, but roams over all grey
kinds of shorelines and far inland, feeding on tips
and roosting on large reservoirs.Flocks returning to less black
on wingtips
evening roosts in long lines or “V”s look dramatic.
In winter, groups typically forage around outflows
from pipes and sewers, around small harbours, or
out on the mudflats at low tide.
VOICE Loud, squealing notes, yelps, barks, kyow,
kee-yow-yow-yow, ga-ga-ga, kuk-kuk.
NESTING Grass-lined nest on ground, cliff ledge, IMMATURE
or building; 2 or 3 eggs; 1 brood; May. It takes about four years for the clear
FEEDING Takes fish, molluscs, insects, offal, and grey back and whiter underside to
scraps of all kinds from ground or water. gradually appear.
SIMILAR SPECIES OCCURRENCE
Breeds widely in NW Europe on
dark eye darker cliffs, islands, and rooftops. Wide-
small bill grey
smaller with no spread in winter on beaches,
red spot reservoirs, often abundant at
no pale area refuse tips, frequent on adjacent
on upperwings farmland, and likely to fly over
greenish almost anywhere from time to time.
legs rich yellow LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL
COMMON GULL YELLOW-LEGGED GULL legs immature, similar to Seen in the UK
see p.207 see p.210 immature; see p.211 J F M A M JJ A S O N D
Length 55–67cm (22–26in) Wingspan 1.3–1.6m (4 1 ⁄4 –5 1 ⁄4ft) Weight 750–1,250g (27–45oz)
Social Flocks Lifespan 10–20 years Status Secure
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