Gabbiano dal becco anellato

Identificazione

Measurements:<p>The head, neck and underparts are white; the relatively short bill is yellow with a dark ring; the back and wings are silver gray; and the legs are yellow. The eyes are yellow with red rims. This gull takes three years to reach its breeding plumage; its appearance changes with each fall moult. The average lifespan of an individual that reaches adulthood is 10.9 years The oldest ring-billed gull on record was observed in Cleveland in 2021, still alive at the age of 28 years.

Tassonomia

Nome scientifico

Larus delawarensis

Autorità

Ord, 1815

Ordine

Caradriformi

Famiglia

Laridae

Genere

Larus

Areale e habitat

The ring-billed gulls' breeding habitat is near lakes, rivers, or the coast in Canada and the northern United States. They nest colonially on the ground, often on islands. This bird tends to be faithful to its nesting site, if not its mate, from year to year.<p>The ring-billed gull is a familiar sight in American and Canadian 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.<p>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.<p>This gull is a regular wanderer to western Europe. In Ireland and Great Britain it is no longer classed as a rarity, with several birds regularly wintering in those countries.

Areale riproduttivo

NA : inland e British Columbia to s Northwest Territories, s James Bay to Labrador and Newfoundland (c, s Canada), Pacific Northwest states and Great Lakes (n contiguous USA)

Areale non riproduttivo

to coastal and inland s US, s Mexico, Bahamas and Greater Antilles

Migrazione

Complete migrants

Conservazione

Tendenza della popolazione

rising