| American herring gull | |
|---|---|
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| Adult | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Charadriiformes |
| Family: | Laridae |
| Genus: | Larus |
| Species: | L. smithsonianus
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| Binomial name | |
| Larus smithsonianus Coues, 1862
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| Synonyms | |
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Larus argentatus smithsonianus | |
The American herring gull or Smithsonian gull (Larus smithsonianus or Larus argentatus smithsonianus) is a large gull that breeds in North America, where it is treated by the American Ornithological Society as a subspecies of herring gull (L. argentatus).
Adults are white with gray back and wings, black wingtips with white spots, and pink legs. Immature birds are gray-brown and are darker and more uniform than European herring gulls, with a darker tail. As is common with other gulls, they are colloquially referred to simply as seagulls.
It occurs in a variety of habitats including coasts, lakes, rivers, parking lots and garbage dumps. Its broad diet includes invertebrates, fish, and many other items. It usually nests near water, laying around three eggs in a scrape on the ground.
- ^ BirdLife International (2019) [amended version of 2018 assessment]. "Larus smithsonianus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T62030590A155596462. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T62030590A155596462.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.