What Animal Lives Where

Where has the American herring gull been recorded?

Larus smithsonianus occurrence evidence comes from 3,694 records in 11 countries and territories, from 1859 to 2026. Most records come from United States.

American herring gull
American herring gull — Photo (display-sized rendition): Chuck Homler d/b/a Focus On Wildlife · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
AvesCharadriiformesLaridaeLarus

Observation evidence passport

Evidence found

3,694 records across 11 countries and territories, 1859–2026.

Larus smithsonianus · GBIF taxon key 4848480

Source coverage

CC0 GBIF Animalia occurrence facets, including country, month and year summaries.

Refreshed 2026-08-23. Inspect the taxon on GBIF.

What this means

The species has been recorded in the listed places in the stated source universe. Peak month: January.

12 months reach at least 10% of the peak facet count.

What this does not mean

repeated describes the record pattern, not a formal range, residency, abundance or conservation assessment.

A single record remains evidence of a recording, not proof that a population lives there.

Compare this animal’s observation pattern

When it is recorded

JFMAMJJASOND

Peak month: January. Records cluster in the months an animal is present and being looked for, so a summer peak can reflect observer effort as much as the animal.

Records over time

18592026

Recording effort has risen steeply almost everywhere since the 1990s, so a rising line usually shows more observers rather than more animals.

Where American herring gull has been recorded

The countries below show where occurrence evidence exists for American herring gull. They do not define a complete habitat range: survey effort differs by place, and historical or one-off records can appear alongside repeated presence.

PlaceRecordsShare
United States 2,815
Canada 854
Mexico 12
Sweden 3
ZZ 2
Bermuda 1
Bahamas 1
Cuba 1
United Kingdom 1
South Korea 1
Puerto Rico 1

Related animals

Others in the family Laridae.

Lesser Black-backed Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
4,046,434 records
Herring Gull
Herring Gull
3,247,099 records
Black-headed Gull
Black-headed Gull
1,123,276 records
Mew Gull
Mew Gull
986,748 records
Common Tern
Common Tern
519,969 records
Great Black-backed Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
493,641 records
Mediterranean Gull
Mediterranean Gull
263,862 records
Arctic Tern
Arctic Tern
232,790 records
Record pattern: repeated
Repeated records across many years and months. This is inferred from how many years and months the animal appears in, not from a range map — treat it as evidence, not a formal assessment.