Herring Gull
Learn to identify the Herring Gull by ear. Master the "kee-ouh-ke-ke-ke-keaaa" phrase and tell it apart from similar species.
What the Herring Gull sounds like
A large, robust gull familiar to shorelines, harbours and landfill sites across the Northern Hemisphere. Adult Herring Gulls show a clean white head and underparts with a soft pearly-gray back and upper-wings, black wingtips dotted with neat white ‘mirrors,’ and a hefty yellow bill marked with a diagnostic red spot. Highly adaptable and opportunistic, the species frequents both marine and inland habitats and is notorious for boldly scavenging food from humans.
“kee-ouh-ke-ke-ke-keaaa”
How to tell it apart
Lessons featuring the Herring Gull
Ready to test your ear? Practice identifying the Herring Gull's sounds in these interactive in-app lessons.
Where you'll hear it
Coastal beaches, rocky headlands, estuaries, harbours, reservoirs, large lakes, agricultural fields, urban rooftops and rubbish tips.
Breeds in noisy colonies from April–July; post-breeding birds disperse widely, gathering in large flocks at food-rich sites through autumn and winter. Juveniles undergo a four-year moult cycle before reaching adult plumage.
Similar species
Great Black-backed Gull
Much larger and bulkier
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Slightly smaller
Ring-billed Gull
Noticeably smaller and slimmer