American Herring Gulls and Ring-billed Gulls
Gulls are notorious for being difficult to identify, but there are still some good cues you can use to tell them apart. American Herring Gulls and Ring-billed Gulls are two relatively common species in the U.S. and Canada, so they’re a great place to start! Can you tell them apart? Check out the keys to ID below, then test your identification skills with Bird Academy’s Snap ID tool. You’ll soon be picking out these subtle differences with confidence!
| ID Clue | American Herring Gull | Ring-billed Gull |
|---|---|---|
| Body Type (all ages) | Large with a robust body. | Smaller and slimmer. |
| Bill (adult) | Thicker bill with a red spot on the lower mandible. | Short bill with a black ring near the tip. |
| Legs (adult) | Pink legs | Yellow legs |
| Flying (immature) | Broad black band on the tail. | Narrower black band on the tail. |
Lighting and perspective can sometimes make spotting these visual cues challenging. See if you can identify them in the quiz below. You can replay the quiz as many times as you want. Each time you hit “Play Again,” you’ll have new photo matchups to practice on. Just click “Start Snap ID Challenge” to get started!
Test Your Gull ID Skills
As you might have noticed in the quiz, depending on their age, these gulls have a lot of variation! Some variants can be confusing at first. Don’t panic. Just keep multiple ID clues in mind, and you’ll be able to differentiate these tricky birds.
Gulls are fascinating birds to watch, demonstrating so many interesting behaviors. Find out how to interpret new-to-you bird behavior with Understanding Bird Behavior. Looking for more bird identification pointers? Check out any of our Be a Better Birder courses!
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