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The American herring gull or Smithsonian gull (''Larus smithsonianus'' or ''Larus argentatus smithsonianus'') is a large
gull Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century, m ...
that breeds in
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
, where it is treated by the
American Ornithological Society The American Ornithological Society (AOS) is an ornithological organization based in the United States. The society was formed in October 2016 by the merger of the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) and the Cooper Ornithological Society. Its m ...
as a subspecies of
herring gull Herring gull is a common name for several birds in the genus ''Larus'', all formerly treated as a single species. Three species are still combined in some taxonomies: * American herring gull (''Larus smithsonianus'') - North America * European he ...
(''L. argentatus''). Adults are white with gray back and wings, black wingtips with white spots, and pink legs. Immature birds are gray-brown and are darker and more uniform than
European herring gull The European herring gull (''Larus argentatus'') is a large gull, up to long. One of the best-known of all gulls along the shores of Western Europe, it was once abundant. It breeds across Northern Europe, Western Europe, Central Europe, Eastern ...
s, with a darker tail. As is common with other gulls, they are colloquially referred to simply as seagulls. It occurs in a variety of
habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
s including coasts, lakes, rivers,
parking lots A parking lot (American English) or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface ...
and
garbage dump A landfill site, also known as a tip, dump, rubbish dump, garbage dump, or dumping ground, is a site for the disposal of waste materials. Landfill is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of the waste ...
s. Its broad diet includes
invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...
s,
fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...
, and many other items. It usually
nests A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of organic materi ...
near water, laying around three
eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...
in a scrape on the ground.


Taxonomy

This gull was first described as a new species in 1862 by
Elliott Coues Elliott Ladd Coues (; September 9, 1842 – December 25, 1899) was an American army surgeon, historian, ornithologist, and author. He led surveys of the Arizona Territory, and later as secretary of the United States Geological and Geographic ...
based on a series of specimens from the
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
. It was later reclassified as a
subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
of the herring gull ('' Larus argentatus''). The genus name is from
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''Larus'', which refers to a gull or other large seabird. The species name ''smithsonianus'' commemorates English chemist
James Smithson James Smithson (c. 1765 – 27 June 1829) was an English chemist and mineralogist. He published numerous scientific papers for the Royal Society during the late 1700s as well as assisting in the development of calamine, which would eventually ...
whose £100,000 bequest enabled the foundation of the institution that bears his name. The taxonomy of the herring gull group is very complicated and much is still controversial and uncertain. A 2002 study suggested that the American herring gull is not closely related to European herring gulls, belonging instead to a separate
clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...
of gulls.
Sangster, George George Sangster is a Dutch ornithologist. He specialises in taxonomy and has written many articles on this subject for the magazines Dutch Birding ''Dutch Birding'', originally subtitled ''Journal of the Dutch Birding Association'', and current ...
; J. Martin Collinson; Alan G. Knox; David T. Parkin & Lars Svensson (2007)
Taxonomic recommendations for British birds: 4th report
''
Ibis The ibises () (collective plural ibis; classical plurals ibides and ibes) are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae, that inhabit wetlands, forests and plains. "Ibis" derives from the Latin and Ancient Greek word f ...
'', 149 (4): 853-857.
Several authorities such as the Association of European Rarities Committees and British Ornithologists' Union now recognize it as a separate species. The BOU also includes the
Vega gull The Vega gull, East Siberian gull, or East Siberian herring gull (''Larus vegae'') is a large gull of the herring gull/lesser black-backed gull complex which breeds in Northeast Asia. Its classification is still controversial and uncertain. It i ...
(''Larus vegae'') of northeastern
Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
within the American herring gull. The
American Ornithologists' Union The American Ornithological Society (AOS) is an ornithological organization based in the United States. The society was formed in October 2016 by the merger of the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) and the Cooper Ornithological Society. Its m ...
has not adopted the split and continues to treat the American herring gull as a subspecies of ''Larus argentatus''.


Description

It is a heavily built large gull with a long powerful bill, full chest and sloping forehead.Dubois, Philippe J. (1997). Identification of North American herring gull. '' British Birds'' 90:314-324. Males are long and weigh . Females are long and weigh . The wingspan is .Pierotti, R. J. & T. P. Good (1994)
Herring Gull (''Larus argentatus'')
''The Birds of North America Online'' (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 31 October 2008. ubscription required/ref>Olsen, Klaus Malling & Hans Larsson (2004). ''Gulls: Of North America, Europe, and Asia.'' Princeton University Press. . Among standard measurements, the wing chord is , the
bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...
is and the tarsus is . Breeding adults have a white head, rump, tail, and underparts and a pale gray back and upperwings. The wingtips are black with white spots known as "mirrors" and the trailing edge of the wing is white. The underwing is grayish with dark tips to the outer
primary feathers Flight feathers (''Pennae volatus'') are the long, stiff, asymmetrically shaped, but symmetrically paired pennaceous feathers on the wings or tail of a bird; those on the wings are called remiges (), singular remex (), while those on the tail ...
. The legs and feet are normally pink but can have a bluish tinge, or occasionally be yellow. The bill is yellow with a red spot on the lower mandible. The eye is bright, pale to medium yellow, with a bare yellow or orange ring around it. In winter, the head and neck are streaked with brown. Young birds take four years to reach fully adult
plumage Plumage ( "feather") is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, ...
. During this time they go through several plumage stages and can be very variable in appearance. First-winter birds are gray-brown with a dark tail, a brown rump with dark bars, dark outer primaries and pale inner primaries, dark eyes, and a dark bill, which usually develops a paler base through the winter. The head is often paler than the body. Second-winter birds typically have a pale eye, pale bill with black tip, pale head and begin to show gray feathers on the back. Third-winter birds are closer to adults but still have some black on the bill and brown on the body and wings and have a black band on the tail.


Voice

It has no song but has a variety of cries and calls. The "long call" is a series of notes during which the head is dipped then raised. The "choking call" is produced during courtship displays or territorial disputes.Stokes, Donald & Lillian Stokes (1996). ''Stokes Field Guide to Birds: Eastern Region.'' Little, Brown & Co. Juvenile birds emit high-pitched plaintive cries to elicit feeding behavior from a parent and may also emit a clicking distress call when a parent suddenly flies off.


Similar species

Adult
European herring gull The European herring gull (''Larus argentatus'') is a large gull, up to long. One of the best-known of all gulls along the shores of Western Europe, it was once abundant. It breeds across Northern Europe, Western Europe, Central Europe, Eastern ...
s are very similar to American herring gulls but those of the subspecies ''L. a. argenteus'' are smaller than many American birds while those of the northern subspecies ''L. a. argentatus'' are typically darker gray above. European birds lack the long gray tongues on the 6th, 7th, and 8th primaries and solid black markings on the 5th and 6th primaries that are shown by American herring gulls.Clarke, Tony; Chris Orgill & Tony Disley (2006). ''Field Guide to the Birds of the Atlantic Islands.'' Christopher Helm, London. First-winter European birds have more checkered upperparts, more streaked underparts, and a paler rump and base to the tail.


Distribution and habitat

The breeding range extends across the northern part of North America from central and southern
Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
to the
Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...
and north-east coast of the United States from
Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...
south to
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
. It breeds over most of Canada apart from the southwest and Arctic regions. Birds are present all year in southern Alaska, the Great Lakes and north-east USA but most birds winter to the south of the breeding range as far as Mexico with small numbers reaching
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
,
Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
and the
West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...
.
Vagrants Vagrancy is the condition of homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants (also known as bums, vagabonds, rogues, tramps or drifters) usually live in poverty and support themselves by begging, scavenging, petty theft, tempora ...
have reached
Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
and
Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
and there is a report from
Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...
and another from
Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...
.Mata, Jorge R. Rodriguez; Francisco Erize & Maurice Rumboll (2006). ''A Field Guide to the Birds of South America: Non-Passerines.'' HarperCollins, London.Schulenberg, Thomas S.; Stotz, Douglas F.; Lane, Daniel F.; O'Neill John P. & Parker, Theodore A. III (2007) ''Field Guide to the Birds of Peru.'' Christopher Helm, London. The first European record was of a bird ringed in
New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
which was caught on a boat in
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
waters in 1937 and there have been a number of additional records from Western Europe since 1990. The first British record was in 1994 in Cheshire.Quinn, David (2009). American Herring Gull in Cheshire & Wirral: new to Britain '' British Birds'' 102(6):342-7 It usually nests in colonies near water on coasts, islands, and cliffs. It also nests on rooftops in some cities. It feeds at sea and on beaches, mudflats, lakes, rivers, fields, and refuse dumps. It roosts in open areas close to feeding sites.


Behavior


Feeding

It has a varied diet, including marine
invertebrates Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...
such as
mussel Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and Freshwater bivalve, freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other ...
s,
crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the ...
s,
sea urchin Sea urchins () are spiny, globular echinoderms in the class Echinoidea. About 950 species of sea urchin live on the seabed of every ocean and inhabit every depth zone from the intertidal seashore down to . The spherical, hard shells (tests) of ...
s, and
squid True squid are molluscs with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight arms, and two tentacles in the superorder Decapodiformes, though many other molluscs within the broader Neocoleoidea are also called squid despite not strictly fitting t ...
; fish such as
capelin The capelin or caplin (''Mallotus villosus'') is a small forage fish of the smelt family found in the North Atlantic, North Pacific and Arctic oceans. In summer, it grazes on dense swarms of plankton at the edge of the ice shelf. Larger capelin ...
, alewife, and
smelt Smelt may refer to: * Smelting, chemical process * The common name of various fish: ** Smelt (fish), a family of small fish, Osmeridae ** Australian smelt in the family Retropinnidae and species ''Retropinna semoni'' ** Big-scale sand smelt ''At ...
; insects; and other birds including their chicks and eggs. It often feeds on
carrion Carrion () is the decaying flesh of dead animals, including human flesh. Overview Carrion is an important food source for large carnivores and omnivores in most ecosystems. Examples of carrion-eaters (or scavengers) include crows, vultures, c ...
and human refuse. Food is plucked from the surface of the shore or sea or is caught by dipping underwater or by shallow plunge-diving. They also feed on
clam Clam is a common name for several kinds of bivalve molluscs. The word is often applied only to those that are edible and live as infauna, spending most of their lives halfway buried in the sand of the seafloor or riverbeds. Clams have two she ...
s and mussels by dropping them from a height on hard surfaces such as roads or rocks to break their shells. There is some question about whether this behavior is learned or innate, although it seems to be learned.


Reproduction

Pairs form in March or April. The nest is a scrape on the ground lined with vegetation such as grass, seaweed, and feathers. Usually three eggs are laid over a four- to six-day period. They are long and are variable in color with brown markings on a pale blue, olive or cinnamon background.Ehrlich, Paul R.; David S. Dobkin & Darryl Wheye (1988). ''The Birder's Handbook: a field guide to the natural history of North American birds.'' Simon & Schuster, New York. The eggs are incubated for 30–32 days beginning when the second egg is laid. The young birds
fledge Fledging is the stage in a flying animal's life between hatching or birth and becoming capable of flight. This term is most frequently applied to birds, but is also used for bats. For altricial birds, those that spend more time in vulnerable c ...
after 6–7 weeks and are fed in the nest area for several more weeks. They continue to be cared for by the parents until they are about 6 months old. Both parents are involved in building the nest, incubating the eggs and feeding the young. It has been observed that some pairs cement a close bond, staying in watchful proximity of each other year-round; Other gulls display more independence, but may take the same mate each spring.


Status

The species became quite rare during the 19th century when it was hunted for its eggs and feathers. From the 1930s to the 1960s, it increased rapidly due to protection from hunting, increased waste from fisheries to feed on, and less competition for small fish and invertebrates as humans reduced the populations of large fish,
whales Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. As an informal and colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea, i.e. all cetaceans apart from dolphins and ...
, and
pinnipeds Pinnipeds (pronounced ), commonly known as seals, are a widely range (biology), distributed and diverse clade of carnivorous, fin-footed, semiaquatic, mostly marine mammal, marine mammals. They comprise the extant taxon, extant family (biology ...
(seals). It was one of many impacted by high DDT usage, and was the target of the study that first linked DDT to eggshell thinning. Population growth leveled off during the 1970s and 80s and may now be declining in some areas.


References


Further reading


Identification

* Lonergan, Pat and
Killian Mullarney Killian Mullarney is an Irish ornithologist, bird artist and bird tour leader. He designed a series of Irish definitive stamps for An Post illustrating Irish birds issued between 1997 and 2004. He was born in Dublin in 1958, and educated at home ...
(2004) Identification of American Herring Gull in a western European context ''
Dutch Birding ''Dutch Birding'', originally subtitled ''Journal of the Dutch Birding Association'', and currently subtitled ''International journal on Palaearctic birds'', is an ornithological magazine published by the Amsterdam-based Dutch Birding Association ...
'' 26(1): 1-35


External links


Gull Identification Website: Herring Gull (''smithsonianus'')
{{Taxonbar, from=Q469297
American herring gull The American herring gull or Smithsonian gull (''Larus smithsonianus'' or ''Larus argentatus smithsonianus'') is a large gull that breeds in North America, where it is treated by the American Ornithological Society as a subspecies of herring gul ...
Native birds of Alaska Birds of Canada Birds of the Dominican Republic Native birds of the Northeastern United States
American herring gull The American herring gull or Smithsonian gull (''Larus smithsonianus'' or ''Larus argentatus smithsonianus'') is a large gull that breeds in North America, where it is treated by the American Ornithological Society as a subspecies of herring gul ...
Taxa named by Elliott Coues