"Ring-Billed Gull" (Larus delawarensis)

	Photograph taken in Rockland, Maine November 1999 by © Snow W. Frost
	Photograph by © Snow W. Frost
	Photograph by © Snow W. Frost
	Photograph by © Snow W. Frost
	Photograph by © Snow W. Frost
	Photograph by © Snow W. Frost
	Photograph by © Snow W. Frost
	Photograph by © Snow W. Frost
	Photograph by © Snow W. Frost
	Ring-billed Gull and Great Egret Photograph by © Snow W. Frost

Ring-Bill gulls, just like other Gulls, tend to flock together in groups of their own kind. Large numbers arrive in Florida in October and stary for the winter...some Ring-Bill Gulls remain all year. The Ring-Billed Gull gets a new and different plumage in each of the first three autumns and doesn't attain adult plumage until the third year. Attains ring on bill after the first winter.

Summer: Pale gray mantle; dark ring just before tip of thin yellow bill; yellow legs; yellow eye.
Winter: Like summer, but light brown spotting on crown and nape.





Size: 19"

Male: A white bird with gray wings, black wing tips spotted with white, and a white tail, as seen in flight. Yellow bill with a black ring near tip. Yellowish legs and feet.

Female: Same as male.

Nest: Ground; the female and male build; 1 brood per year. Usually colonian nester. Nest of grasses, pebbles, sticks, placed on ground.

Eggs: 2-4; off-white with brown markings.

Incubation: 20-21 days; female and male incubate.

Fledging: 20-40 days; female and male feed young.

Migration: Complete, to southern states and Mexico, winters in Florida.

Food: Insects, worms, eggs from nesting seabirds, dlying dispersing ants, fish, scavenges.

Voice: "hyah, hyah, and other calls.

Habitat: Coasts, lakes, dumps, fields, fast-food locations.

In Flight: Clearly defined tail band contrasts with white tail base.





My personal notes...
The Ring-Billed Bull that visits the nearby lake, is a "loner", and seems to enjoy hanging around Egrets. A quiet bird, just seems to enjoy sitting around after his fill of food.









"Bird Wonderland"
"Wonderland"

Copyright © 1999-2009 Snow W. Frost
All rights reserved.
Reproduction without permission is strictly forbidden.