HERRING GULL : Larus argentatus
Where to see them : Our coasts and sometimes inland.
Herring gulls can be easily confused with lesser black-backed gulls but have much paler grey backs, with black wing tips and white spots (‘mirrors’). Their head and bill too are similar. A good way to differentiate them is their flesh pink legs. Many herring gulls that we see here in winter may have come from Scandinavia. Herring gulls are one of the commonest gulls breeding in towns and cities and often found in Dumbarton High Street.
An adult herring gull off the Clyde shore...
....and a juvenile nearby.
