Ring-billed Gull
Larus delawarensis

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Laridae
Genus: Larus

Audio for Species

Call
Song

from Macaulay Library

Species Related Links

Additional Ring-billed Gull Pictures

Description

Length: 16.9-21.3 in (43-54 cm ) Weight: 10.6-24.7 oz (300-700 g) Wingspan: 41.3-46.1 in (105-117 cm)

The adult head, neck, breast and belly are white. The bill is yellow with a black ring near the tip. They have yellow legs and the eyes are yellow too. The primary wing feathers are black with white tips; the tail is white.

The juvenile and first year has pale brown-gray plumage on the head, back, breast and belly, with light brown scalloping. they have a black bill, that quickly develops a pale base. Their legs are pink or gray. The upperwing coverts are dark with wide white edgings, and the tail has a dark band on a white tail.

Habitat, Range, and Feeding

The Ring-billed Gull can be found around fresh water, landfills, golf courses, farms, parking lots, and occasionally coastal beaches. They are colony nesters, nesting on islands, scraping an area on the ground, in dirt or vegetation. The nest is filled with sticks, grasses, leaves, lichen, and moss. Most of them will return to the same breeding spot year after year. The clutch size is 1 to 4 eggs, that are light olive with dark brown spots.

They are omnivorous, consuming fish, garbage, insects, earthworms, marine invertebrates, and grains.