Summary

In this episode—which is number 126—Ivan Phillipsen heads to the seashore to explore the iconic Herring Gulls whose calls define the soundscape of coasts across North America and Europe. Listeners meet not just one but two species: the American Herring Gull and the European Herring Gull, nearly identical in appearance but with a surprisingly twisty evolutionary backstory.

Ivan breaks down what makes these gulls such compelling birds: their “menacing” expressions, complex vocal repertoire, opportunistic diets (including bags of Doritos), and clever foraging tricks like dropping clams from the air and tap-dancing for earthworms. He also looks at how these gulls live and raise their young—forming long-term pair bonds, nesting in dense gulleries, and fiercely defending their territories in ways that some unlucky humans have experienced up close.

Once persecuted, then booming, and now declining in some regions, these birds tell a story that’s far more complicated than being “just seagulls.”

Links of Interest

• A Herring Gull “foot pattering” on grass [VIDEO]

Research Citations

• Reactions of American and French Species of Corvus and Larus to Recorded Communication Signals Tested Reciprocally
• Recurrent hybridization and recent origin obscure phylogenetic relationships within the ‘white-headed’ gull (Larus sp.) complex
• Drop-catch behaviour is play in herring gulls, Larus argentatus

Photos

Attributions

• American Herring Gull sounds (Xeno Canto recording XC464084)
• European Herring Gull sounds (Xeno Canto recording XC707075)
• American Herring Gull sounds (Xeno Canto recording XC636548)
• American Herring Gull sounds (Xeno Canto recording XC1036311)
• European Herring Gull sounds (Xeno Canto recording XC1002938)
• European Herring Gull sounds (Xeno Canto recording XC976583)
• European Herring Gull sounds (Xeno Canto recording XC953928)