Gulls and terns · Shorebirds
Ring-billed Gull
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Larus delawarensis
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Voice
Call
How to recognize it
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Body length 43–54 cm
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Adult: white body, pale grey back and wings, black wingtips with white spots
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Yellow bill with a black ring
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Yellow legs, red eye-ring
About the species
Among the gulls around North American waterfronts, adults are white underneath with a silver-gray back and wings, their black wingtips broken by small white patches. The yellow bill has a dark band near its tip, the feature that gives the Ring-billed Gull its name. Yellow legs and a fine red rim around each eye add touches of color against the pale head.
It walks and wades for food, picks up scraps from the water, and also catches food on the wing. It will take unattended food or snatch a meal from another gull, eating anything from insects, worms and fish to grain and discarded scraps.
It breeds near lakes, rivers and coasts across Canada and the northern United States, nesting in colonies on the ground, often on islands; flat roofs serve as nest sites too. Many move south for winter to the Gulf of Mexico, the U.S. coasts and northern Mexico, though some stay in milder parts of Canada. In towns, parking lots, parks, beaches and marinas offer feeding spots, and people sometimes hand-feed them.
Where to find
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On winter beaches in Britain and Ireland, watch for quick snatches of food left unattended by beachgoers.
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At docks and marinas in western Europe, look for approaches to people offering food by hand.
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In North American city parking lots, Ring-billed Gulls often gather in large numbers.
