California Gulls are medium-sized gulls with slender bills, white bodies and heads, and gray wings with black tips.
During the winter the adults have brown mottling on their heads. Juveniles are mottled brown and take three years to turn white and gray.
- Larus californicus
- Length: 18.5-21.3 in (47-54 cm)
- Weight: 15.2-36.9 oz (430-1045 g)
- Wingspan: 51.2 in (130 cm)
Range
California Gulls breed in central Canada and the West North Central US states, before migrating to the West Coast for winter.
Habitat And Diet
You can find California Gulls along coastal areas in the winter and inland along rivers and lakes in the summer. As with most gulls, they eat anything they can from fish to flies or garbage. Also, eggs, small mammals, and fruit.
California Gull calls:
Nests
Nests of California Gulls are scrapes on the ground and filled with grass, feathers, and vegetation. They lay up to 4 eggs which take 3 to 4 weeks to hatch.
Fun Fact:
California Gulls have a neat trick to catch the thousands of flies on the Great Basin shores. They run through them with their head down and beak open catching them with ease.
