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

How it forages

Highly opportunistic and omnivorous. Diet includes fish, crustaceans, mollusks, insects, eggs and chicks of other birds, small mammals, carrion, offal, discarded human food, and berries. They forage by scavenging, surface-seizing, shallow-diving, and kleptoparasitism (stealing food from other birds).

When it feeds

Diurnal, though they may forage at night under artificial light or during full moons.

Explore the European Herring Gull