American Herring Gull

23″ to 26″ in length

48″ wingspan

Breeding: Islands in large lakes

Non-breeding: Large lakes and rivers, wetlands, landfills

Opportunistic feeder. Aquatic invertebrates, fish, insects, worms, other bird’s eggs, human food waste.

Common migrant, locally common breeder

The Minnesota Ornithologists’ Union All Seasons Species Occurrence Map

Species split
The American Herring Gull was formerly considered to be identical to the European Herring Gull (Larus argentatus). The gulls are morphologically “near-indistinguishable.” Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) studies in 2004 (Liebers, et al.) and 2005 (Knijff et al.) showed a difference between North American and European specimens. It suggested that they were not closely related, even belonging to different clades. This, along with differences in vocalizations described in 1958, suggest that the species should be separated. However, this was, and remains, controversial. Since mtDNA drifts within populations through hybridization, some authorities insist that it cannot be used as the sole determinant in separating species. Also, the vocal data is not conclusive for several reasons.

The British Ornithologist’s Union (BOU) and the Association of European Rarities Committees accept the split and use the name Larus smithsonianus for the North American gull. The American Ornithologist’s Union (AOU) considered and rejected the split in 2007. It treats the North American gull as a subspecies of the European, and uses the name Larus argentatus smithsonianus.

In 2024, the American Ornithological Society (AOS)—the successor to the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) following a 2016 merger—officially approved the species split it had previously rejected back in 2007.

Herring Gulls
Andree Reno Sanborn

Herring Gull
Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren

American Herring Gull - Larus smithsonianus
Jean-François Hic

American Herring Gull
JMC Nature Photos

American Herring Gull Boardwalk 1 Oct 16
Tim Root

American Herring Gull
Amar Ayyash

American Herring Gull (Larus argentatus smithsonianus) -First-Cycle
Stoil Ivanov

American Herring gull, adult winter, Galveston TX, Nov 2010
Hans Larsson

American Herring Gull
Nelson Wu