Ring-Billed Gull

Larus delawarensis

The Ring-Billed Gull can be difficult to distinguish from the California Gull. Both breed in the interior of North America. Winters find these birds moving to the coasts of North America, or to its southern states. Some even migrate into much of Mexico. But California Gulls spends their winters only on the Pacific coast.

We often find these gulls in the western USA, and where they share territory with California Gulls, mistaken identities can be a problem. Adult Ring-Billed Gulls have a pale iris, while those of the California Gull are dark brown. There are other distinguishing marks to differentiate the two species, but I find this key useful.

Taxonomists regard the Ring-Billed Gull as monotypic (there are no subspecies recognized).

Most of my meetings with Ring-Billed Gulls have been in California, but I have also found them in Oregon, Idaho, Utah, New Mexico, and Texas. The first time I met this species in Texas, was at the mouth of the Rio Grande. They were perching on foraging Brown Pelicans, and hoping for a free meal from the larger birds. I didn’t see any successful thieving, but the boldness they displayed was remarkable. They even spent time perched on the larger bird’s heads and backs.

Both my 2022 and 2023 expedition into Canada produced meetings with this species. In 2022, I met them in Alberta, and in 2023, I found a nesting colony in Ontario on the shores of Lake Erie.

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Range Map for Ring-Billed Gull
Range Map

61 Photos

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