Ring-billed Gull
A species of Gulls Scientific name : Larus delawarensis Genus : Gulls
Ring-billed Gull, A species of Gulls
Botanical name: Larus delawarensis
Genus: Gulls
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Description People often ask General Info
Photo By Mykola Swarnyk , used under CC-BY-SA-3.0 /Cropped and compressed from original 
Description
The ring-billed Gull is a medium-sized gull and the most widespread gull of North America. Extremely well-adapted to humans, these omnivorous birds can be regularly seen in parking lots and garbage dumps, feeding on a wide range of foods. They are agile flyers, able to pick up food mid-flight. Many of them return to breed in the colony where they were born.
Size
43 - 54 cm
Life Expectancy
10-25 years
Nest Placement
Ground
Clutch Size
2 - 4 eggs
Incubation Period
1 brood
Number of Broods
20 - 31 days
Nestling Period
4 - 5 days
Feeding Habits
Ring-billed Gull are omnivorous, consuming fish (alewife, smelt, stickleback, perch), insects (beetles, flies, dragonflies), earthworms, rodents, and grain. They adapt to varied diets including farm field foods, berries, and human food. Common in areas with human activity, they forage at beaches and parks, and may scavenge unguarded food.
Habitat
Ring-billed Gull primarily inhabit areas close to bodies of water, such as lakes, rivers, and coastal regions in Canada and the northern United States. They prefer nesting in colonies on the ground, often choosing islands for this purpose. Known for their adaptability, ring-billed Gull are prevalent in diverse environments including urban and suburban locales, agricultural lands, estuaries, beaches, and mudflats. In the colder months, they are frequently observed near human-made structures like docks, harbors, and landfills, as well as natural inland waters such as reservoirs and ponds. Ring-billed Gull are somewhat less tied to coastal areas compared to other gulls, often venturing into shopping areas and parking lots.
Nest Behavior
Ring-billed Gull's nest in large colonies and show site fidelity across seasons. Both parents partake in nest-building, and they care for their eggs and young collaboratively.
Nest Characteristics
Ring-billed Gull's build nests on the ground near freshwater, favoring low, sparse vegetation areas for concealment from predators. Constructed from twigs, sticks, and grasses, a nest's outer diameter is 10-25 inches, with a 9-inch wide, 2-inch deep inner cup.
Dite type
Omnivorous
People often ask
General Info
Sounds
Call
Recording location: United States
Behavior
Ring-billed Gull are highly dynamic in daily activities, exhibiting impressive aerial agility with speeds over 40 miles per hour. Their foraging strategies are diverse, ranging from aerial insect capture to foot paddling in shallow waters for invertebrates. These gulls also display playfulness and skill refinement by dropping and retrieving objects mid-flight. Socially, they maintain personal spaces in nonbreeding flocks, and exhibit a unique set of behaviors for conflict resolution and aggression, involving specific head movements and vocalizations to express dominance or submission.
Distribution Area
The ring-billed gull is a familiar sight in American parking lots, where it can regularly be found congregating in large numbers. In some areas, it is displacing less aggressive birds such as the common tern. They are migratory and most move south to the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of North America, and the Great Lakes. 
Scientific Classification
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