American Herring Gull

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American Herring Gull
Adult on nest
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Charadriiformes Family: Laridae Genus: Larus Species: L. smithsonianus
Binomial name
Larus smithsonianus Coues, 1862, North America
Synonyms
Larus argentatus smithsonianus

The American Herring Gull, Larus smithsonianus, is a large gull, similar to Larus argentatus, except that immature birds tend to be darker and more uniformly brown.

[edit] Taxonomy

It was first described as a new species in 1862 by Elliott Coues based on a series of specimens from the Smithsonian Institute. It was later reclassified as a subspecies of the Herring Gull (Larus argentatus). The taxonomy of the Herring Gull group is very complicated and much is still controversial and uncertain. A 2002 study suggested that the American Herring Gull is not closely related to European Herring Gulls, belonging instead to a separate clade of gulls. Several authorites such as the AERC and BOU now recognize it as a separate species. However this has not been adopted by the AOU.

[edit] Description

Males are 60-66 cm long and weigh 1,050-1,250 grams. Females are 56-62 centimetres long and weigh 800-980 grams. The wingspan is 120-150 centimetres.

[edit] Distribution and habitat

The breeding range extends across the northern part of North America from central and southern Alaska to the Great Lakes and north-east coast of the USA south to North Carolina. It breeds over most of Canada apart from the southwest and arctic regions.

Birds are present all year in southern Alaska, the Great Lakes and north-east USA but most birds winter to the south of the breeding range with small numbers reaching as far as Central America and the West Indies. Vagrants have reached Colombia and Venezuela and there is a report from Peru. There are a number of records from Western Europe and eastern Asia.