The Herring Gull 
No. 275 
Herring Gull 
A. 0. U. No. 51 . Larus argentatus argentatus Pontoppidan. 
Description. —[This, although undoubtedly the central figure of a large group 
of similar and closely related members of the genus Larus, may for our purposes best be 
described in terms of constant comparison with the foregoing]. Adult in summer: 
Similar to L. occidentalis, but bill relatively slenderer and with angle less pronounced; 
and color of mantle much lighter, deep pearl-gray instead of plumbeous; pattern of 
wing-tip subsimilar, but black more restricted by earlier invasion of basal gray, this 
gray appearing on inner web of 1st primary, and pushing to within two inches of the 
tip of the 3rd; whereas in occidentalis the gray only begins to appear, faintly, on the 
inner web of the 4th; the pattern of terminal and subterminal white is, however, almost 
exactly the same. Bill yellow, with spot of vermilion at angle of gonys; feet pale rosy 
or flesh-color, perhaps a little lighter than L. occidentalis. Early plumages and plumage 
changes: as in L. occidentalis. First year birds are lighter and less abruptly varied; 
2nd year birds are of a lighter shade of grayish brown, and are especially lighter in 
color on wing-tips and tail (where brownish gray or brownish dusky instead of brownish 
black); 3rd year birds, not otherwise easily distinguishable, show invasion of character¬ 
istic pearl-gray on mantle; near adult birds show retarded evolution in the persistence of 
adolescent black on tip of bill; and fully adult birds in the recurrence of nebulation 
(with brownish dusky) on head and neck all around, and sides of breast, in winter. 
Length 558.8-660.4 (22.00-26.00); av. of 10 Monterey specimens: length 600 (23.65); 
wing 441.4 (17.4); tail 163.2 (6.43); bill 56.9 (2.24); depth at angle 18.1 (.71); depth at 
base of nostril 16.8 (.66); tarsus 66.5 (2.62). 
Recognition Marks. —Standard of “gull size”; mantle rather light bluish gray; 
black wing-tips (with white spots on adult) serve to distinguish from L. glaucescens; 
rosy feet from L. californicus (this is the sole certain distinction a-wing) and delawar- 
ensis; less extensive black on wing-tip and lighter mantle from occidentalis. 
Nesting. —Does not breed in California. Nest: Of weeds and grasses on the 
ground, or, exceptionally, in (coniferous) trees. Eggs: 3; of normal type (see under 
preceding species). Av. size 71.1 x 48.3 (2.80 x 1.90). Season: June. 
General Range. —Northern Hemisphere. In America, breeds from coast of 
Maine, northern New York, islands in Lake Huron north of Lat. 44, and Lake Michigan 
(Green Bay), Minnesota, Manitoba, and southern British Columbia, north to high 
Arctic latitudes. Winters south to Cuba, Florida, coast of Texas, Yucatan, and Tepic. 
Distribution in California. —Common winter resident along the entire coast; 
less common south of Monterey. Abundant in San Francisco Bay. Casual in the 
interior (Salton Sea, Jan. 30, 1913). 
Authorities.—Vigors ( Larus argentatus ), Zool. Voy. “Blossom,” 1839, p. 39 
(coast of Calif.); Kobbe , Auk, vol. xix., 1902, p. 19 (San Francisco; crit.; relationship 
to vegce ); Dwight , Auk, vol. xxxvii., 1920, p. 266 (plumages and molt). 
“CAPTAIN, how many kinds of gulls do you see here in the course 
of a year?” “Gulls? Kinds of gulls?” repeats the man in the pilot¬ 
house, the man who knows buoys, harbor lights, and all proper things of 
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