Ring-billed GullLarus delawarensisWhere and when to see them

The Ring-billed Gull is a medium-sized North American gull named for the dark band around an adult's yellow bill. It is especially familiar around inland waters, although it also occurs along coasts. The Columbia and Mississippi river systems provide feeding areas, resting places, and migration routes within its broad range. Adaptable and sociable, it uses both natural habitats and human-altered landscapes. Its appearance changes with age and season, making the bill ring most useful for identifying adults.

Size

43-54 cm long, with a wingspan of 105-117 cm.

Weight

300-700 g.

Lifespan

Can live more than 20 years in the wild.

Status

Least Concern (IUCN).

Ring-billed Gulls commonly gather in flocks to feed, rest, and travel. They breed in colonies, usually placing nests on the ground on islands or other sites with some protection from terrestrial predators. Both parents incubate the eggs and care for the chicks. Feeding birds may walk across open ground, pick food from the water's surface, or catch insects in flight. They sometimes steal food from other birds and readily investigate concentrated food sources. Many populations migrate, with northern breeders moving toward milder regions after nesting. Outside the breeding season, large groups may gather at communal roosts on open water, islands, and shorelines.

• Despite its association with water, it often feeds in fields far from shore.
• Young birds take about three years to acquire full adult plumage.
• Both parents help build the nest and raise the young.
• Its scientific name refers to the Delaware region.

Wildlife opportunities depend on the river reach, water levels and species. River-specific viewing months have not been confirmed; general species seasons are not a local sighting forecast.

This species occupies rivers, lakes, reservoirs, estuaries, and coastal waters. It also visits agricultural fields, parks, parking areas, and other open spaces where food is available. Along the Columbia, suitable habitat includes broad river reaches, reservoirs, islands, and nearby farmland. Along the Mississippi, it uses river channels, sandbars, impoundments, and adjacent floodplain habitats. Breeding colonies favor relatively open sites, often on islands with sparse vegetation.

Ring-billed Gulls are opportunistic omnivores that eat fish, insects, earthworms, crustaceans, and other small animals. They also consume grain, carrion, and discarded human food. Their diet changes with season and local availability. Birds may follow farm machinery to collect exposed invertebrates or gather where currents concentrate food.

Common name

Ring-billed Gull

Scientific name

Larus delawarensis

Animal group

Birds

Size

43-54 cm long, with a wingspan of 105-117 cm.

Weight

300-700 g.

Lifespan

Can live more than 20 years in the wild.

Status

Least Concern (IUCN).

Identification

Adults have a white head and body, pale gray back and upperwings, black wingtips with white markings, and yellow legs. The yellow bill carries a distinct black ring near the tip, and the eye is pale. Nonbreeding adults develop brownish streaking on the head and neck, while younger birds show mottled brown plumage and a less adult-like bill pattern. Compared with an American Herring Gull, a Ring-billed Gull is smaller and more lightly built, with yellow rather than pink legs in adult plumage.