Ring-billed gull (Larus delawarensis)

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Abstract:

Ring-billed Gulls are medium sized, white-headed, primarily inland-nesting North American gulls that frequent garbage dumps, parking lots, and southern coastal beaches in large numbers during winter. This species was nearly wiped out by human persecution and development between 1850 and 1920, but has since rebounded to become a common and familiar bird. An estimated 3 to 4 million individuals inhabited North America in 1990, whereas Breeding Bird Survey (BBS 2011, Sauer et al. 2011) data in 2009 suggested that this number had increased 250%. In some localities this gull is considered a pest and various measures are used to control its numbers, most with limited success. This species account provides the known information about the ring-billed gull's life history, including its distribution, migration, habitat, food habits, sounds, behavior, and breeding. Also included are comments about management and priorities for future research.

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Location: This revised version is online only; there's a note to that effect at ELECTRONIC FILES - Zoology.

Recommended citation:
Pollet, Ingrid L., Dave Shutler, John Chardine and John P. Ryder. 2012. Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/033 doi:10.2173/bna.33.

SWAP (2/19/2016) citation:
Pollet IL, Shutler D, Chardine J, Ryder JP. 2012. Ring-billed gull (Larus delawarensis). The Birds of North America Online. (A. Poole, editor). Ithaca (NY): Cornell Lab of Ornithology. [revised 2012 Apr 24; accessed 2016 Feb 02]. http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/033