European Herring Gull
Larus argentatus Pontoppidan, 1763
Laridae — Gulls, Terns, Skimmers
European Herring Gull, Larus argentatus, is a gull of the Palearctic, breeding on coasts and inland from Iceland to western France and north-western and south-western Russia. It was described by Pontoppidan in 1763. Adults in breeding plumage show a light grey back and upper wings, white head and underparts, black wingtips with white mirrors, a yellow bill with a red spot, and a pale eye ringed by bare yellow skin. The legs are usually pink, though some birds in the Baltic area have yellow legs. Juveniles and first-winter birds are mainly brown.
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Laridae — Gulls, Terns, Skimmers
- Breeding range
- Palearctic: coastal and inland Iceland to w France and nw, sw Russia
