Heermann's Gull
Larus heermanni
Also known as: Heerman's Gull
About This Species
This slate-grey gull with a red-tipped bill is most reliably seen along the Pacific coast, where it gathers in large numbers at breeding colonies on offshore islands and forages along beaches and river mouths, sometimes kleptoparasitising pelicans for fish. Non-breeding congregations along open coastline and estuaries are conspicuous outside the nesting season, particularly in the non-breeding months when birds disperse north and south from the main colonies. Look for it among mixed gull and pelican groups rather than as a solitary bird.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- Because this species is assessed as Near Threatened and breeds colonially on a small number of islands, keep well back from any colony, at least 50 to 100 metres, and never approach nesting areas on foot, since disturbance at a breeding colony can cause mass flushing and egg or chick loss.
- Access to breeding islands is often legally restricted or entirely closed to visitors in the countries where colonies occur, so treat any posted closure as absolute rather than a suggestion.
- Along open beaches outside the breeding season, ordinary distant, non-approaching observation is appropriate, but any sign of alarm calling or flock flushing means you are already too close.
Seasonal Activity
467,631 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Laridae
Photo
(c) David Batchelor, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by David Batchelor
CC-BY-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.