Studies on a colony of colour-ringed Herring GullsLarus argentatus:I. Adult survival rates

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Abstract
Colour-ringed Herring Gulls breeding in a small colony in NE England [UK] were used to estimate the average annual adult survival rates of males and females in 6 successive years. Although the female survival rate was higher than that of the males in most years, the difference was not significant. The average annual survival rate for both sexes combined was 91.7%, giving an average expectation of adult life (which is also the number of breeding seasons in which an average Herring Gull can breed) of over 11 years. More data are required to test whether there are sex differences in survival and to give a more precise measure of the expectation of life. The peak of mortality is between July and September and is lowest during the winter, which is in agreement with previous findings in Britain.