Wild Guide: Ring-Billed Gull

Ring-Billed Gull

Larus delawarensis

Status

Common transient

Size

Length: 17 ½ inches; wingspan: 41 ½-48 inches

Distribution

Statewide

The ring-billed gull is the most frequently observed gull in Missouri. Adults have pale gray upper wings and wide black wing tips with small white spots. The bill is yellow with a black ring near the tip. Their distinct shape and white plumage make them easy to spot as they soar near our big rivers. They float on the water like ducks. Their call is a two-syllable kyah keeya.

Foods

Known as opportunists and scavengers, gulls will eat most anything, including carrion and human food. They forage for mussels, fish, and worms on and near water. They sometimes forage in plowed fields for grubs and other small prey items, and in parking lots near water for fast-food refuse.

Life Cycle

Ring-billed gulls start arriving in Missouri, considered their winter range, in October and reach their greatest numbers from December through February. They fly back north in March and April where they breed in colonies, mostly in the Great Lakes, the northern tier of the U.S., and northward into Canada. Young are covered in down and able to move about soon after hatching.

Human Connections

Where gulls are common, people often view these quarreling, opportunistic feeders as loud, dirty, and disgusting. But when you live in the middle of the continent, like here in Missouri, the sight of a gull conjures images of exotic, carefree, coastal vacations. Many birdwatchers view gull identification as a challenge, almost as a kind of sport.