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Herring Gull Larus argentatus   [Pontoppidan, 1763]
Other Names Trends & Distribution Breeding & Survival Biometrics Books & Links
Order: Charadriiformes Family: Laridae
BTO Codes: HG, HERGU EURING No: 5920
Number in Britain: 131 thousand pairs (Summer)
Conservation Status:
UK: RED
European: Not a species of concern
Global: Least Concern
Links to: Images   Videos   Sound  

Status in UK: (A)  Resident Breeder, Passage/Winter Visitor
Subspecies: argenteus (R), argentatus (W), cachinnans (S), smithsonianus (V) recorded in Britain (of 4 subsp. in the world)
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Length: 60 cm Wingspan: 144 cm Weight: M: 1.2 kg   F: 948    
Scientific name from: Gr.: laros=a seabird and L.: argentum=silver + -tatus=ornamented with
World Distribution: BREEDS: N Eurasia, n&e North America, WINTERS: s Europe, s Asia, Central America
Habitat: Seacoasts, lakes, rivers
Diet: Omnivorous, but mostly animal material, also scavenges and pirates food
TitBit: The familiar 'sea gull' (it can be heard in the theme tune to R4's Desert Island Discs), they first developed the habit of nesting on roofs in the 1920s in SW England  
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Population and Distribution
Population Trend: No population trend available
Distribution: Atlas Maps    (Help with the New Atlas)   
British Population Size:
    Summer: 131 thousand pairs in 1998-02
    Winter: 696 to 763 thousand indviduals in 1993
    First Record: 8th Century
    Latest Survey: Mitchell, P.I. et al. (2004) Seabird populations of Britain and Ireland Poyser, London
    Conservation Status: RED because Recent Breeding Population Decline (1969-2007), Recent Non-breeding Population Decline (1981-2007),
   Previous Assessments: 2002-2007 AMBER     1996-2001 AMBER  
   Races of Concern: argenteus RED (Recent Decline), argentatus GREEN
Habitat Occupancy (in the Breeding Season):
    Most frequent in: Open Shore
    And found in: Estuaries
Relative Frequency in Each Habitat:
European Population Size:
    Summer: 660 to 900 thousand pairs
Population Assesment from Birds in Europe
Distribution in Europe
Listed on the Appendices/Schedules of: WBD(II*)
Survey Results: Seabird 2000 (warning: link to large pdf)
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Breeding and Survival
Egg Size: 71 x 49 mm Egg Weight: 92.0 g (of which 7 % is shell)
Number of Nest Records: 278
Clutch Size: 3 eggs
Incubation: 28- 30 days by the: Female (occ. Male)
Fledging: 35 - 40days as: Semi-precocial, downy
First Clutches Laid: Unavailable
Number of Broods: 1

Number Ringed: 5238
Adult Survival: 0.880 ± 0.013    (M:0.858 ± 0.020; F:0.989 ± 0.016)      
Juvenile Survival: 0.630 (to age 4 )  
Age at First Breeding: 4 years Typical Lifespan: 12 years
Maximum Recorded Age: 28yr 1m   (The Netherlands: 34yr 9m)
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Biometrics
Ring Size: G
Wing Length Adult: 414.5 ± 19.7 Range 385 - 448 mm, N =1125
Juvenile: 405.7 ± 20.1 375 - 440 mm, N =582
Male: Insufficient Data
Female: Insufficient Data
Weight Adult: 970.6 ± 152.3 Range 757.0 - 1264 g , N =974
Juvenile: 956.5 ± 343.3 710.0 - 1210 g , N =473
Male: Insufficient Data
Female: Insufficient Data
Source:
British Trust for Ornithology (2005) Ringing Scheme data
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Other Names
Includes L. michahellis, L. smithsonianus, L. cachinnans
Gaelic: Faoileag-an-sgadain Welsh: Gwylan y Penwaig
Danish: Sølvmåge Dutch: Zilvermeeuw
Finnish: Harmaalokki French: Goéland argenté
German: Silbermöwe Hungarian: Ezüstsirály
Icelandic: Silfurmáfur Irish: Faoileán Scadán
Italian: Gabbiano reale nordico Norwegian: Gråmåke
Polish: Mewa srebrzysta Portuguese: Gaivota-arg?ntea
Spanish: Gaviota argéntea Swedish: Gråtrut
Local Names: White Maa
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For More Information...
Books and Monographs:
   Tinbergen, N. 1953 The herring gull's world Collins, London [598.615 TIN]
See Also:
Gough, G.A. et al. (1998) Patuxent Bird Identification Infocenter
Wikipedia entry
State of the Nations Birds by Chris Mead
Recent sightings and information from BirdGuides.com
Selected scientific papers published 1980-2005
Find more papers on Google Scholar
Find more papers on Scirus

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BirdWeb logo, click to go to BirdWeb BirdFacts home | BTO Home
Email: birdfacts@bto.org

These data should be cited as:
Robinson, R.A. (2005) BirdFacts: profiles of birds occurring in Britain & Ireland (v1.24, June 2009). BTO Research Report 407, BTO, Thetford (http://www.bto.org/birdfacts)

 

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