Herring Gull

LC - Least Concern

N5B, N5N - Secure Breeding and Nonbreeding

SNRB, SNRN - Unranked Breeding and Nonbreeding

not listed

23″ to 26″ in length

48″ wingspan

Breeding: Islands in large lakes

Non-breeding: Large lakes and rivers, wetlands, landfills

Opportunistic feeder. Aquatic invertebrates, fish, insects, worms, other bird’s eggs, human food waste.

Common migrant, locally common breeder

The Minnesota Ornithologists’ Union All Seasons Species Occurrence Map

The American Herring Gull was formerly considered to be identical to the European Herring Gull (Larus argentatus). The gulls are morphologically “near-indistinguishable.” Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) studies in 2004 (Liebers, et al.) and 2005 (Knijff et al.) showed a difference between North American and European specimens. It suggested that they were not closely related, even belonging to different clades. This, along with differences in vocalizations described in 1958, suggest that the species should be separated. However, this was, and remains, controversial. Since mtDNA drifts within populations through hybridization, some authorities insist that it cannot be used as the sole determinant in separating species. Also, the vocal data is not conclusive for several reasons.

The British Ornithologist’s Union (BOU) and the Association of European Rarities Committees accept the split and use the name Larus smithsonianus for the North American gull. The American Ornithologist’s Union (AOU) considered and rejected the split in 2007. It treats the North American gull as a subspecies of the European, and uses the name Larus argentatus smithsonianus.