The Ring-billed Gull is a white-headed, medium-sized New World gull. They are migratory, breeding across much of Canada and the northern United States. In the winter they head as far south as Mexico and the Caribbean.
Like most gull species, the Ring-billed Gull is an opportunistic omnivorous feeder. They feed on fish, insects, small rodents, grains, and other vegetable matter. They may be found in garbage dumps and parking lots, scavenging for scraps, or feeding on natural food items in fields, beaches, or parks.
Ring-billed Gulls are known for their excellent flying ability. They are fast, graceful and agile in flight. They may even steal food from other birds in flight; this skill they practice by dropping objects and swooping down to reclaim them.
The Ring-billed Gull is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List and was last assessed in 2012 by BirdLife International. This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be increasing, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size is extremely large, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.
We're celebrating gulls this week, so for T-Shirt Tuesday we're featuring a new t-shirt design made for people who love seagulls!Larophile is shown here on a Men's Basic American Apparel T-Shirt, which is available in over 30 different colors. The design features... Read more »
This week, we're celebrating gulls! There are about 55 widely recognized species of gull in the world. We'd like to share some of the extreme facts and interesting statistics found within this diverse family. Smallest Gull SpeciesThe Little Gull, weighing in at around 4.2 ounces (120 grams), is... Read more »
