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This is a
typical view of
a ring-billed gull from my yard, they rarely land here. Though
when my neighbor used to scattered bread on his lawn the gulls would
fight with the crows for it. Although they are commonly called
sea gulls, they spend the summer at inland lakes and wet lands.
Notice
the black ring around the bill,
which gives the bird its name. The yellow legs also help to
identify this species. During the winter the ring-billed gulls
spend the night at the beach, mixed with other gulls, and commute
inland for the day.
Being
scavengers, the gulls collect
near school lunch areas, fast food places, landfills, anywhere people
are likely to drop garbage around. In the evening, for the
commute back to the beaches, they frequently for form a large swirling
flock, an animated vortex drifting toward the surf.
Part of
the difficulty in identifying species of gulls is the different
plumages for different ages. In their first summer the young are
dark brownish. The top gull in this picture is in its first
winter. The lower gull is in its third or latter winter.
Here is
the second winter plumage, like adult but with the black tail band.
[Taxonomy : Classification] [Birds] [ Back Yard Biology] [ Science Can Be Fun]