Any of more than 40 species of heavily built, web-footed seabirds (family Laridae) that are most abundant as breeders in temperate to arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
Adults are mainly gray or white, with variable head markings. The bill is strong and slightly hooked, sometimes displaying a spot of colour. Species differ in bill and leg colours and in wing patterns. Wingspans range from 24 to 63 in. (0.6 to 1.6 m). Gulls feed on insects, mollusks, and crustaceans on beaches; worms and grubs in plowed fields; and fish and garbage from ships and along shores. Some large gulls prey on the eggs and young of other birds, including their own kind. See also herring gull ; kittiwake .
Herring gull ( Larus argentatus )
John Markham