Skip to main content

Donate

Birds
Live Cams
Courses
Merlin Bird ID

Donate

Herring Gull Sounds

Overview
ID info
Life History
Maps
Sounds

© DAVID BROWN / Macaulay Library Maine, July 10, 2007

Long calls (American)
Media Player Error
Update your browser or Flash plugin
New York, December 20, 2015Recorded by Jay McGowan / Macaulay Library
Calls (American)
Media Player Error
Update your browser or Flash plugin
Maine, June 16, 2019Recorded by Laura Sebastianelli / Macaulay Library
Calls (American)
Media Player Error
Update your browser or Flash plugin
Maine, June 16, 2011Recorded by Sarah MacLean / Macaulay Library
Calls (American)
Media Player Error
Update your browser or Flash plugin
Maine, June 16, 2011Recorded by Sarah MacLean / Macaulay Library
Calls (American)
Media Player Error
Update your browser or Flash plugin
New York, February 15, 2020Recorded by Brad Walker / Macaulay Library
Calls (American)
Media Player Error
Update your browser or Flash plugin
New York, February 16, 2020Recorded by Brad Walker / Macaulay Library
Juvenile calls (American)
Media Player Error
Update your browser or Flash plugin
New York, September 22, 2020Recorded by James Remsen / Macaulay Library

Sounds provided by Macaulay Library.
Listen to more sounds of this species from the ML archive.

Calls

Herring Gulls have a rich repertoire of calls, each of which may be modified in different contexts and accompanied by different postures. For example, the long-drawn single note of their mew call is always accompanied by an arched neck, but serves to attract attention in contexts as diverse as courtship, chick feeding, nest approaches, or agitated aggression. Their characteristic ha-ha-ha-ha alarm call may change to a plaintive yeow in flight or a yelping keow as the threat intensifies. That keow is highly individual and can serve as personal identification. When trumpeted more and more shrilly as the gull lowers and then raises its head, this becomes the gull's "long call," the most elaborate, variable, and individualized call in its repertoire. Both sexes make a repeated huoh-huoh-huoh in courtship, territorial disputes, and nest selection to indicate some version of "I'm not moving." It’s been called their “choking call” because the birds deliver the call while leaning forward, head down, and heaving upward as they call. Chicks beg for regurgitated food with a klee-ew call that they first peep while inside the egg. And adults use the same call in a softer "baby-talk" version during courtship or in exchanges when the male returns to take his turn on the nest.

Compare with Similar Species

Click on an image to compare

Ring-billed Gull

Ring-billed Gull

Ring-billed Gull

California Gull

California Gull

California Gull

Glaucous-winged Gull

Glaucous-winged Gull

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Great Black-backed Gull

Great Black-backed Gull

Looking for ID Help?

Our free app offers quick ID help with global coverage.

Try Merlin Bird ID

Species in This Family

Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers(Order: Charadriiformes, Family: Laridae)

Black-legged Kittiwake

Bonaparte's Gull

Black-headed Gull

Franklin's Gull

Heermann's Gull

Short-billed Gull

Ring-billed Gull

Great Black-backed Gull

Lesser Black-backed Gull

California Gull

Glaucous-winged Gull

Gull-billed Tern

Browse Species in This Family

More to Read

Living Bird MagazineA Noble Vision of Gulls
Living Bird MagazineHow Do Gulls Deal With Cold Feet?
A Second Look at “Seagulls”: Tips for ID

Bird AcademyKeeping the Peace: Threat Signals in Gull Colonies
When Gulls Attack, Just Stare Back
Which birds are the best mimics?

About Us

Contact Us

Follow us

© 2024 Cornell University

Search for species name or keywords

Or Browse Bird Guide by Family or Shape

Need Bird ID Help? Try Merlin

Don't miss a thing! Join our email list

The Cornell Lab will send you updates about birds,
birding, and opportunities to help bird conservation.