What does the European Herring Gull eat?

The European Herring Gull's diet shapes where and when you'll find it. Understanding what it eats helps you predict where to look.

Diet overview

Omnivore, highly opportunistic. Diet includes fish, crustaceans, mollusks, insects, eggs and chicks of other birds, small mammals, carrion, offal, discarded human food, and berries.

How it forages

Highly opportunistic and generalist. Forages by scavenging, surface-seizing, plunging, and kleptoparasitism (stealing food from other birds). Will drop hard-shelled prey (e.g., mollusks) onto hard surfaces to break them open. Often follows fishing boats and scavenges at landfills.

When it feeds

Diurnal, though can be active at dawn and dusk, especially when foraging at landfills or fishing ports.

Explore the European Herring Gull