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Larus delawarensis

(Ring-Billed Gull)

Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in Basque:

Delaware Kaioa

Common Names in Breton:

Ar Gouelan Beg Gwalennek

Common Names in Catalan:

Gavina De Delaware

Common Names in Catalan (Balears):

Gavina De Delaware

Common Names in Czech:

Racek Delawarský

Common Names in Danish:

Ringnæbbet Måge

Common Names in Dutch:

Ringsnavel Meeuw, Ringsnavelmeeuw

Common Names in English:

Common Gull, Lake Gull, Ring-Bill Gull, Ring-Billed Gull

Common Names in Estonian:

Vöötnokk-Kajakas

Common Names in Faroese:

Sæðingur

Common Names in Finnish:

Rengasnokkalokki

Common Names in French:

Goèland à Bec Cerclè, Goéland à Bec Cerclé, Goéland à Bec Cerclé

Common Names in Galician:

Gaivota De Delaware

Common Names in German:

Delawarenmöwe, Ringschnabelmöwe, Ringschnabelmöwe

Common Names in Haitian Creole Frenc:

Mòv Bèk Jòn

Common Names in Hungarian:

Gyuruscsoru Sirály

Common Names in Icelandic:

Hringmáfur

Common Names in Irish:

Faoileán Bandghobach

Common Names in Italian:

Gabbiano Del Delaware, Gabbiano Di Delaware, Gavina Americana

Common Names in Japanese:

クロワカモメ, Kurowakamome

Common Names in Latin:

Larus delawarensis

Common Names in Lithuanian:

Žiedasnapis Kiras

Common Names in Norwegian:

Ringnebbmåke

Common Names in Polish:

Mewa Delawarska

Common Names in Portuguese:

Alcatraz De Delaware, Gaivota De Delaware

Common Names in Portuguese (Brazil):

Gaivota-De-Bico-Manchado

Common Names in Romansh:

Muetta Dal Bec a Cularin

Common Names in Slovak:

Cajka Obrúckozobá

Common Names in Slovenian:

Progastokljuni Galeb

Common Names in Spanish:

Apipizca De Delaware, Gaviota De Delaware, Gaviota Pico Anillado

Common Names in Spanish (Costa Rica):

Gaviota Piquianillada

Common Names in Spanish (Cuba):

Gallego Real

Common Names in Spanish (Dominican R:

Gaviota

Common Names in Spanish (Honduras):

Gaviota Pico Anillado

Common Names in Spanish (Mexico):

Gaviota Pico Anillado

Common Names in Swedish:

Ringnäbbad Mås

Common Names in Turkish:

Halkali Marti

Common Names in Welsh:

Gwylan Fodrwybig

Description

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Physical Description

Adult : Head : white Face : Eye Color: yellow Eye Ring: red Bill: yellow with black band Neck: white Body: Back: pale gray Mantle: pale gray Rump : white Size: large Underparts: white Upperparts: white Legs : Foot Color: yellow Leg Color: yellow Tail: white.First Winter: Head: mostly white Crown: dusky mottling Face: Eye Color: brown Bill: dull flesh colored with black tip Neck: mostly white Hindneck: dusky mottling Body: Mantle: gray-brown, mottled and scaled with grayish-buff Rump: mostly white with dusky mottling Underparts: mostly white Legs: Leg Color: grayish-flesh colored Wings: Remiges : blackish Secondaries: tipped with white Tail: mostly white with black subterminal band.

Color:

Adults have a white head , neck, chest, belly, and tail; gray back and wings; black primaries (flight feathers) with the outer two having white spots; yellow bill with a black band ; and yellow legs and feet. Juveniles are variably mottled browns, with black bills and black primaries.

Adult alternate: Bright yellow bill with complete black ring at gonys · Bright yellow legs · Yellow eye · White head, neck, breast and belly · Pale gray back and upperwings · White tertial crescent · Black primaries with white tips and two white mirrors on outer primaries · White tail

Adult basic: Like adult alternate but thin dark streaks about head and duller soft parts

Juvenile: Black bill quickly developing pale base · Pale head, breast, back and belly with light brown scalloping · Dark upperwing coverts with wide white edgings · Pale belly · Dark outer primaries · Dark terminal band on white tail

First-year: Pink bill with black tip · Pink or gray legs · White head, neck and upper breast streaked with brown · Pale gray back · Upperwing coverts dull brown · Pale gray secondaries · Black primaries · Dark terminal band on white tail

Second-year: Like adult basic but often with black-tipped yellow bill, entirely dark primaries and partial tail band

Size/Age/Growth

About 16 to 19 inches long, with a wingspan of 48 to 48 inches. Adults weigh about 19.2 ounces .

Habitat

Non-breeding habitats are similar to the breeding season habitats, but also include more urban habitats such as parking lots and garbage dumps.

Vegetation: freshwater marshes, coastal waters, coastal sand beaches and mudflats, arid lowland scrubs, pastures and agricultural lands, freshwater lakes and ponds • Maximum Elevation: 2,600 meters • Sensitivity to Disturbancet: Low

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 2,839 meters (0 to 9,314 feet).[1]

Biology

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Diet

The diet consists of a variety of materials , including fish, insects, small vertebrates , and in the winter, garbage. The Ring-billed Gull gathers food off the ground , or dives into the water while flying or swimming.

Reproduction

The breeding season begins in early May and extends to early August. Breeding habitat includes inland lakes , rocky islands, isolated coastal areas, and sometimes islands in marshes. The Ring-billed Gull is a colonial nester , with many pairs nesting in the same area. The saucer-shaped nest is built on the ground by both adults out of grasses and other plant material . The nest is lined with finer grass and feathers . The female lays 1-7 (usually 2-4) eggs that both adults take turns incubating for about 21 days. The young are semiprecocial and are cared for by both adults. The young are able to swim at an early age and can fly when they are about 35 days old. They take 3 years to reach sexual maturity. Like other 3-year gulls, the Ring-billed Gull acquires a new and different plumage in each of its first three fall molts .

Migration

Migratory

Taxonomy

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Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: 17-Oct-2001.

Similar Species

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California Gull, Herring Gull

Members of the genus Larus

There are approximately 173 species in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:

L. alba · L. argentatus (Herring Gull) · L. argentatus antelius · L. argentatus argentatus (Herring Gull) · L. argentatus argenteus · L. argentatus atlantis · L. argentatus birulae · L. argentatus cachinnans · L. argentatus drosti · L. argentatus heuglini · L. argentatus michahellis · L. argentatus mongolicus · L. argentatus omissus · L. argentatus smithsonianus · L. argentatus thayeri · L. argentatus vegae · L. armenicus (Armenian Gull) · L. atlanticus (OlrogÃŒs Gull) · L. atricilla (Laughing Gull) · L. atricilla atricilla (Laughing Gull) · L. atricilla megalopterus · L. audouini · L. audouinii (AudouinÃŒs Gull) · L. azarae · L. belcheri (Band-Tailed Gull) · L. belcheri atlanticus · L. belcheri belcheri (Band-Tailed Gull) · L. borealis · L. brachyrhynchus (Mew Gull) · L. brevirostris (Red-Legged Kittiwake) · L. bridgesii · L. brunneicephalus · L. brunnicephalus (Indian Black-Headed Gull) · L. bulleri (Black-Billed Gull) · L. cachin · L. cachinans · L. cachinnans (Yellow-Legged Gull) · L. cachinnans atlantis · L. cachinnans barabensis · L. cachinnans cachinnans · L. cachinnans michahellis · L. cachinnans mongolicus · L. californicus (Californian Gull) · L. californicus albertaensis (Light-Mantled California Gull) · L. californicus californicus (Dark-Mantled California Gull) · L. canus (Common Kamchatka Gull) · L. canus brachyrhynchus (Mew Gull) · L. canus canus (Common Kamchatka Gull) · L. canus heinei (Mew Gull) · L. canus kamtschatschensis (Eastern Common Gull) · L. canus stegmanni · L. capensis · L. capistratus · L. cirrhocephalus · L. cirrocephalus (Grey-Headed Gull) · L. cirrocephalus cirrocephalus (Gray-Hooded Gull) · L. cirrocephalus poicephalus · L. cirrocephalus poiocephalus · L. crassirostris (Black-Tailed Gull) · L. delawarensis (Ring-Billed Gull) · L. delewarensis · L. dominicanus (Southern Black-Backed Gull) · L. dominicanus austrinus · L. dominicanus dominicanus (Southern Black-Backed Gull) · L. dominicanus judithae · L. dominicanus melisandae · L. dominicanus vetula · L. eburnea (Ivory Gull) · L. eburneus · L. elegans · L. fuliginosus (Dusky Gull) · L. furcatus (Swallow-Tailed Gull) · L. fuscus (Lesser Black-Backed Gull) · L. fuscus fuscus (Lesser Black-Backed Gull) · L. fuscus graellsi · L. fuscus graellsii (Lesser Black-Backed Gull) · L. fuscus heuglini · L. fuscus intermedius · L. gelastes · L. genei (Slender-Billed Gull) · L. glaucescens (Glaucous-Winged Gull) · L. glaucescens occidentalis · L. glaucescens x · L. glaucoides (White-Winged Gull) · L. glaucoides glaucoides (White-Winged Gull) · L. glaucoides kumlieni (Kumlien's Gull) · L. glaucoides thayeri (Iceland Gull) · L. glaucus · L. graellsii · L. haematorhynchus · L. hartlaubi · L. hartlaubii (King Gull) · L. heermanni (White-Headed Gull) · L. heermannii · L. hemprichi · L. hemprichii (Sooty Gull) · L. hermanni · L. heuglini · L. heuglini heuglini · L. hybrid

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 12, 2007:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Mean = 205.120 meters (672.966 feet), Standard Deviation = 345.870 based on 19,998 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
Last Revised: 2009-06-19