Larus argentatus

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	AVES	CHARADRIIFORMES	LARIDAE

Scientific Name:

Larus argentatus

Species Authority:

Pontoppidan, 1763

Common Name/s:

English	–	Herring Gull
French	–	Goéland argenté

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Least Concern ver 3.1

Year Assessed:

2009

Assessor/s:

BirdLife International

Reviewer/s:

Bird, J., Butchart, S.

Justification:
This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend is not known, but the population is not believed to be decreasing sufficiently rapidly to approach the thresholds under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size is extremely large, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

History:

2008	–	Least Concern
2004	–	Least Concern

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	The Herring Gull breeds in most of Canada and Alaska, as well as the north-east USA, on the northern coastline of Europe including inland Iceland, Ireland, Scandinavia and the United Kingdom, and in the north of Russia from the centre to its eastern tip. Some populations winter further south, being found in much of the USA, Mexico and Central America, on the northern coasts of Spain and France, in much of Japan and on the south-eastern coast of China¹.
Countries:	Native: Albania; Antigua and Barbuda; Aruba; Austria; Azerbaijan; Bahamas; Barbados; Belarus; Belgium; Belize; Bermuda; Bulgaria; Canada; Cayman Islands; China; Costa Rica; Croatia; Cuba; Czech Republic; Denmark; Djibouti; Dominica; Dominican Republic; El Salvador; Eritrea; Estonia; Faroe Islands; Finland; France; Germany; Gibraltar; Greece; Greenland; Guadeloupe; Guatemala; Haiti; Honduras; Hong Kong; Hungary; Iceland; India; Ireland; Italy; Japan; Kenya; Korea, Democratic People's Republic of; Korea, Republic of; Latvia; Lithuania; Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of; Martinique; Mexico; Mongolia; Montserrat; Myanmar; Nepal; Netherlands; Netherlands Antilles; Nicaragua; Norway; Pakistan; Panama; Poland; Portugal; Puerto Rico; Romania; Russian Federation; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; Saint Pierre and Miquelon; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Slovakia; Somalia; Spain; Sri Lanka; Sudan; Svalbard and Jan Mayen; Sweden; Switzerland; Taiwan, Province of China; Tanzania, United Republic of; Thailand; Trinidad and Tobago; Turks and Caicos Islands; Ukraine; United Kingdom; United States; Viet Nam; Virgin Islands, British; Virgin Islands, U.S. Vagrant: Colombia; Cyprus; Ecuador; Egypt; Israel; Jamaica; Kazakhstan; Luxembourg; Malta; Moldova; Montenegro; Morocco; Northern Mariana Islands; Philippines; Serbia; United States Minor Outlying Islands; Venezuela Present - origin uncertain: Palau
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	Estimate includes totals for 'Larus heuglini'.

Population:

Estimate includes totals for 'Larus heuglini'.

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	Behaviour Northern breeding populations of this species are migratory¹ although populations in the south are nomadic or completely non-migratory³. The species breeds between mid-April and late-June^{1, 3} in colonies of up to several thousand pairs, occasionally nesting solitarily or as single pairs on the edge of other seabird colonies¹. Outside of the breeding season the species is highly gregarious and gathers in large flocks in favoured sites^{2, 4}. Individuals show foraging site fidelity⁸. Habitat The species inhabits coastal and near-coastal areas¹ but may also forage inland on large lakes and reservoirs, fields and refuse dumps^1.It has no specific breeding habitat¹ but may show a preference for rocky shores with cliffs, outlying stacks or islets^{1, 4}, otherwise nesting on rocky and grassy islands, sandy beaches¹, dunes², gravel bars, saltmarshes, rocky outcrops, buildings, claypits¹, tundra with reeds or hummocks³, swampy lowlands near lakes and on river islands³. When inland on migration the species also shows a preference for large river valleys³. Diet The species has a highly opportunistic diet and will exploit almost any superabundant source of food¹. It takes fish, earthworms, crabs and other marine invertebrates (e.g. molluscs, starfish or marine worms), adult birds, bird eggs and young, rodents, insects (e.g. ants), berries and tubers (e.g. turnips)¹. It also scavenges at refuse dumps, fishing wharves and sewage outfall zones and frequently follows fishing boats^1,9. Breeding site The nest is a depression in a mound of vegetation^{2, 3} placed on the ground, e.g. on a cliff ledge or roof, usually in the shelter of vegetation¹. Although Herring Gulls exploit refuse tips and farmland extensively all year round, their breeding distribution is extremely coastal compared to other Larus gulls (other than L. marinus)¹⁰. Foraging range The species shows increasing foraging distances later in the breeding period¹¹. The feeding range has been variously reported as 35 km (for breeding herring gulls in a Dutch colony)¹², 41 km (in Westphalia, Germany, outside the breeding season)¹³, 50 km (for breeding birds in Morocco)¹⁹ and 70 to 100 km (for herring gulls breeding in Denmark)¹⁴. Several other studies have reported shorter foraging distances^{15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22}. Refuse tips are frequently exploited by foraging individuals^16,17,20 and so the feeding distribution of some colonies will be determined by location of refuse dumps²². On the basis of a simple density model of birds at sea, it has been estimated that 95% of herring gulls breeding on Terschelling in the Dutch Wadden Sea foraged within 54 km of the colony²². Radio-tracking of four gulls at an inland lake in Ontario indicated extreme specialisation in foraging patterns, with two of the gulls feeding within 1 km whereas two others took extended flights to destinations more than 30 km away^22,23.
Systems:	Terrestrial; Freshwater; Marine

Habitat and Ecology:

Behaviour Northern breeding populations of this species are migratory¹ although populations in the south are nomadic or completely non-migratory³. The species breeds between mid-April and late-June^{1, 3} in colonies of up to several thousand pairs, occasionally nesting solitarily or as single pairs on the edge of other seabird colonies¹. Outside of the breeding season the species is highly gregarious and gathers in large flocks in favoured sites^{2, 4}. Individuals show foraging site fidelity⁸. Habitat The species inhabits coastal and near-coastal areas¹ but may also forage inland on large lakes and reservoirs, fields and refuse dumps^1.It has no specific breeding habitat¹ but may show a preference for rocky shores with cliffs, outlying stacks or islets^{1, 4}, otherwise nesting on rocky and grassy islands, sandy beaches¹, dunes², gravel bars, saltmarshes, rocky outcrops, buildings, claypits¹, tundra with reeds or hummocks³, swampy lowlands near lakes and on river islands³. When inland on migration the species also shows a preference for large river valleys³. Diet The species has a highly opportunistic diet and will exploit almost any superabundant source of food¹. It takes fish, earthworms, crabs and other marine invertebrates (e.g. molluscs, starfish or marine worms), adult birds, bird eggs and young, rodents, insects (e.g. ants), berries and tubers (e.g. turnips)¹. It also scavenges at refuse dumps, fishing wharves and sewage outfall zones and frequently follows fishing boats^1,9. Breeding site The nest is a depression in a mound of vegetation^{2, 3} placed on the ground, e.g. on a cliff ledge or roof, usually in the shelter of vegetation¹. Although Herring Gulls exploit refuse tips and farmland extensively all year round, their breeding distribution is extremely coastal compared to other Larus gulls (other than L. marinus)¹⁰. Foraging range The species shows increasing foraging distances later in the breeding period¹¹. The feeding range has been variously reported as 35 km (for breeding herring gulls in a Dutch colony)¹², 41 km (in Westphalia, Germany, outside the breeding season)¹³, 50 km (for breeding birds in Morocco)¹⁹ and 70 to 100 km (for herring gulls breeding in Denmark)¹⁴. Several other studies have reported shorter foraging distances^{15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22}. Refuse tips are frequently exploited by foraging individuals^16,17,20 and so the feeding distribution of some colonies will be determined by location of refuse dumps²². On the basis of a simple density model of birds at sea, it has been estimated that 95% of herring gulls breeding on Terschelling in the Dutch Wadden Sea foraged within 54 km of the colony²². Radio-tracking of four gulls at an inland lake in Ontario indicated extreme specialisation in foraging patterns, with two of the gulls feeding within 1 km whereas two others took extended flights to destinations more than 30 km away^22,23.

Systems:

Terrestrial; Freshwater; Marine

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	The species is threatened by coastal oil pollution⁷ and is susceptible to avian influenza so may be threatened by future outbreaks of the virus⁵. Utilisation The species is hunted in Denmark^6.

Major Threat(s):

The species is threatened by coastal oil pollution⁷ and is susceptible to avian influenza so may be threatened by future outbreaks of the virus⁵. Utilisation The species is hunted in Denmark^6.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	Conservation Actions Underway Preventative and control measures are frequently used against this species as it is regarded as a pest and a threat to many other colonial bird species (it usurps habitats and preys upon bird eggs and young), and also to airports (frequently causes collisions)¹. Conservation Actions Proposed

Conservation Actions:

Conservation Actions Underway
Preventative and control measures are frequently used against this species as it is regarded as a pest and a threat to many other colonial bird species (it usurps habitats and preys upon bird eggs and young), and also to airports (frequently causes collisions)¹.

Conservation Actions Proposed

Citation:	BirdLife International 2009. Larus argentatus. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 07 February 2012.
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