Name: American herring gull
Species: Larus argentatus
Popular and common variants / subspecies / other names: Swallow-tailed gull, laughing gull, Franklin’s gull, ring-billed gull, California gull, tern
Geographic distribution: The gull is found throughout all of the United States and Canada except the Arctic.
Environment: Although our first instinct is to look for gulls along coasts of rivers and lakes, these birds are also frequently found inland around food sources such as garbage dumps.
Physical description: The American herring gull is a medium-sized bird with grey-and-white plumage, a yellow bill, and webbed feet. The common gull measures approximately 24 inches long, with a wingspan of approximately 55 inches and an average weight of 36 ounces.
Interesting facts: Seagulls are omnivores. They’ll scavenge for food, but are also bold enough to snatch it from other animals and even humans. They flock in large groups and nest in colonies. Their slightly melancholy cry is easily recognizable; gulls were called “mews” in the Middle Ages because of their cry. Some calls sound more like a mocking laugh.
Myths, folklore, and cultural associations: The gull is colloquially known as the seagull, but gulls are found inland as well as in coastal regions, near fresh as well as saltwater. They are very adaptable birds.
“Gull” is the root of the word gullible. If you believe something untrue or incredible you are a gull, possibly because you’ll figuratively swallow just about anything, as the bird literally will.
Fishermen used to watch for flocks of gulls to indicate the presence of shoals of fish. In general, we tend to associate gulls with the idea of freedom. Their cries usually figure in relaxing memories of beach visits or seaside holidays. Watching gulls wheel and soar in the air high above us can be an inspiring sight, evoking peace or longing.
One of the more famous seagulls in literature is the titular character of Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach, a spiritual fable about a seagull who wishes to rise above the petty daily life of a gull and to become an accomplished flyer, symbolically rising above the lowest common denominator. This story has also helped firmly fix the association between gulls and freedom in the mind of the modern birder.
Omens and divinatory meaning: The gull is an adaptable scavenger. Are you using your resources to their utmost potential? Should you be thinking outside the box and developing a use or application for an item or piece of information that didn’t seem to fit?
Think about the juxtaposition between the seagull’s association with freedom with the reaction we often have of disgust and our perception of the bird as a nuisance when encountered in daily life. Does the seagull make you uncomfortable? Meditate upon the apparent contradiction, and the discomfort. If you see the seagull as a pest, try to see beyond that to the freedom it represents. If you see it a noble symbol of liberty, remember that it has baser associations, too. Consider whether you interpret the gull’s call as being reminiscent of laughter or something sad. The gull reminds us that everything has a flip side.
The gull may also have appeared to caution you against becoming someone’s gull. Are you easily fooled, or gullible? Take everything with a grain of salt and think carefully about what you accept as truth.
Associated energies: Balance, adaptability, freedom
Associated season: Summer
Element associations: Air, water
Color associations: White, grey, yellow