Heermann's Gull

Larus heermanniOrder: CHARADRIIFORMESFamily: Skuas, Gulls, Terns, Skimmers (Laridae)
Heermann's Gull Breeding Adult Portrait
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Range Map for Heermann's Gull

Overview

Heermann's Gull: Medium-sized gull with gray underparts and dark gray upperparts. Head is white and bill is bright red with black tip. Tail is black and edged with white. Legs and feet are black. Dives into ocean to catch fish. Also steals and scavenges. Flight is bouyant and direct.

Range and Habitat

Heermann's Gull: Nests on hot desert islands along the coast of western Mexico, migrates northward to the Pacific coast of the U.S. as far north as southern British Columbia; may disperse southward from Mexican breeding grounds. Found along beaches, rocky shoreline, estuaries, and lagoons.

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Listen:

Voice Text

"kwak", "weee"

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Related Birds:

Mew Gull
Western Gull
Herring Gull
Laughing Gull
Black-tailed Gull
.

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Family Gull (Laridae)_blue
Species Larus heermanni
Length18 - 21 Inches
Wingspan49.5 Inches

Heermann's Gull

Heermann's Gull: Medium-sized gull with gray underparts and dark gray upperparts. Head is white and bill is bright red with black tip. Tail is black and edged with white. Legs and feet are black. Dives into ocean to catch fish. Also steals and scavenges. Flight is bouyant and direct.

● Song: "kwak", "weee"

● Foraging & Feeding: Heermann's Gull: Feeds mostly on small fish such as sardines and anchovies, occasionally on crustaceans, mollusks, and other marine invertebrates scavenged from the beach, kelp beds, and fishing boat dumps.

● Breeding & nesting: Heermann's Gull: Two or three pale blue gray eggs with lavender, brown, and blue marks are laid in a nest made of sticks and small rocks, sometimes lined with feathers, and built on the ground or between large rocks and boulders. Eggs are incubated for 28 days by both parents.

● Similar species: Heermann's Gull: Western Gull has dark gray back and wings, white head, tail, and underparts, yellow bill, and pink legs and feet.

Flight Pattern

Buoyant flight with steady fast wing beats.
Heermann's Gull Breeding Adult Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Heermann's Gull: Nests on hot desert islands along the coast of western Mexico, migrates northward to the Pacific coast of the U.S. as far north as southern British Columbia; may disperse southward from Mexican breeding grounds. Found along beaches, rocky shoreline, estuaries, and lagoons.
BreedingMonogamous, Colonial
Population
MigrationMigratory
Weight17.6 Ounces