Types of Gulls
Gulls are the adaptable coastal birds most people call "seagulls", though many live far inland around lakes, rivers and parking lots. They are notoriously hard to identify because most take three or four years to reach adult plumage. Here are the gulls in the Huck field guide, with how to tell them apart.
20 gulls in the Huck field guide. Tap any one for identification, habitat, diet, and a live sightings map.
Not sure which gull you found?
Point Huck at it. One photo identifies it on the spot, and adds it to your collection.
Get Huck - freeCommon questions
Why are gulls so hard to identify?
Because they change so much with age. A large gull can take four years to go from mottled brown to its clean grey-and-white adult plumage, passing through several confusing in-between stages. Size, leg colour and wingtip pattern are the marks that help.
Is it a seagull or just a gull?
There is no species actually called a seagull. It is an informal name for the whole family, and many of them, like the Ring-billed Gull, are more at home inland than at the coast.