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Yellow-legged Gull (Larus michahellis) German name(s): "Mittelmeermöwe" Size: 52-58 cm; wing span: 1.2-1.55 m Body mass: 1.1-1.6 kg(male), 0.55-1.2 kg (female) Wing loading [g/cm2]: 0.40-0.55

Europe: Family Group 10 Family Group 10 Table Great Skua Arctic Skua Pomarine Skua Caspian Gull Great Black-backed Gull Lesser Black-backed Gull American Herring Gull European Herring Gull Yellow-legged Gull Audouin's Gull Slender-billed Gull Iceland Gull Common Gull Ring-billed Gull Black-headed Gull Bonaparte's Gull Mediterranean Gull Little Gull Sabine's Gull Black-legged Kittiwake Caspian Tern Sandwich Tern Gull-billed Tern Common Tern Arctic Tern Little Tern Forster's Tern Whiskered Tern Black Tern White-winged Black Tern Atlantic Puffin Razorbill Common Guillemot Black Guillemot Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names European birds home page

Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Yellow-legged Gulls are large, white-headed gulls. They take four years to reach maturity, so there are five different phases of plumage. During the breeding season, adult Yellow-legged Gulls have an all-white head and front, with narrow yellow to orange eye-rings. The belly can have a light-grey tinge. The wings are grey, with black tips on the outer primaries, which also have white spots on them. In-flight the wings show white leading and trailing edges. The tail is white. Outside the breeding season the back of the head can be slightly streaked grey, but otherwise, except for wear and tear, the plumage remains the same. Their most prominent (but not unique!) feature is the strong, yellow bill with a red spot near the tip of the lower mandible. The irises are pale-grey. The legs and feet are yellow, which is the easiest way to identify this species. There are 3 different immature plumages. The plumage of third-year birds already closely resembles that of adults, but with some residual grey streaking on the head, nape of the neck and some of the flight feathers. The bill is mostly light-grey, with a black spot (across both mandibles) near the tip. The legs and feet are pale-yellow. Second-year birds have a mottled grey head, a mostly light-grey front and mottled grey sides. The wings are mostly grey, with some mottling on the coverts; the tips of the outer primaries and the tail are black. The legs and feet are still pinkish. The irises are quite dark. The frontal half of the bill is black, with a light-grey tip, the base is grey. Except for a grey front of the head and a grey belly, first-year Yellow-legged Gulls are mottled grey all over, with streaking on the breast, but a bolder pattern on the wings. The irises are dark. The bill is black with a grey base. Juveniles have an all-black bill, a strongly streaked front and boldly scalloped brownish-grey wings. Twitcher's tip The easiest way of telling Yellow-legged Gulls and European Herring Gulls apart is by the colour of the adults' legs.

Taxonomy, classification See Yellow-legged Gull at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Yellow-legged Gull is available HERE . There are two races of Yellow-legged Gulls, nominate race "michahellis" and race "atlantis". The former is found in Europe, along the North African coastline, in the Middle East and Asia Minor, while the latter populates the Canary Islands, Madeira and the Azores in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. In Europe Yellow-legged Gulls, nominate race "michahellis", are primarily found around the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea and the western French Atlantic coastline, up to the Bretagne, where they are permanent residents. They are also found year-round on basically all Mediterranean islands. There are only few locations inland on the European continent where they are permanently present, e.g. along parts of the river Danube and along the nearby western coast of the Black Sea. They also breed along the upper river Rhine. They have in recent decades extended their range farther North, along the Rhine valley and along the North Sea coastline from the Bretagne to Denmark and the Baltic Sea coastline eastwards to Poland, where they are only found as migrants. Some migrants also move down the African coastline, both on the Atlantic and Red Sea side. Yellow-legged Gulls usually breed in colonies on the ground, but pairs have now also started using rooftops. They have a preference for rocky coastlines, often with cliff ledges for nesting.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "michahellis" H. Dahlem-Senger reports spotting Yellow-legged Gulls, nominate race "michahellis", in various locations. First, a Yellow-legged Gull was spotted on a ferry from the Dutch mainland to Texel island in April 2014. A few Yellow-legged Gulls were spotted on Fehmarn island, Germany, in April 2016. In November 2016 Yellow-legged Gulls, nominate race "michahellis", were found in Noordwijk, Netherlands. D. Wilczynska reports spotting Yellow-legged Gulls, nominate race "michahellis", near Cala Gonone, eastern Sardinia, and near Santa Giusta, western Sardinia, Italy, in June 2016. G. Pinelas reports finding Yellow-legged Gulls, nominate race "michahellis", at Cascais, Lisbon, Portugal, in September 2018. They were found in the same area by H. Dahlem-Senger in November 2019. M. Eaton spotted Yellow-legged Gulls, nominate race "michahellis", in Split, Croatia, in September 2019. M. Eaton also found a Yellow-legged Gull, nominate race "michahellis", in Mequinenza, Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, in September 2019. J. Pires reports finding Yellow-legged Gulls, race "michahellis", occasionally on the coastal fringe of southern/central Portugal. H. Dahlem-Senger found a second-year immature Yellow-legged Gull, nominate race "michahellis", on the River Rhine, near Schierstein, Hessen, Germany, in May 2022. A. Sarok reports finding Yellow-legged Gulls, nominate race "michahellis", in Vojvodina, Serbia, in the timeframe 2010-2024. Race "atlantis" Both G. Pinelas and J. Pires report finding Yellow-legged Gulls, race "antlantis", occasionally on the coastal fringe of southern/central Portugal. D. Wilczynska reports spotting Yellow-legged Gulls, race "atlantis", on Isla Lobos, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote, Canary Islands, in March 2017.

Photos

Race "michahellis"

ADULT

BREEDING

PAIR

Frontal view of a pair of Yellow-legged Gull in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Port of Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, September 2020]

Near-lateral and dorsal views of two Yellow-legged Gulls in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Port of Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, March 2019]

Sex unknown

Close-up frontal portrait of a Yellow-legged Gull in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Berlengas Island, Peniche, Portugal, May 2022]

Close-up frontal view of a Yellow-legged Gull in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Split, Croatia, September 2019]

Near-frontal view of a Yellow-legged Gull in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Cabo Raso, Cascais, Lisbon, Portugal, January 2021]

Close-up near-lateral view of a Yellow-legged Gull in breeding plumage in shady conditions (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Split, Croatia, September 2019]

Near-lateral view of a Yellow-legged Gull in breeding plumage looking sideways (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Port of Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, January 2022]

Near-lateral view of a Yellow-legged Gull in breeding plumage looking backwards - note how dark-orange this bird's bill, legs and feet are, and also the amount of red on its bill
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Berlengas Island, Peniche, Portugal, May 2022]

Close-up lateral portrait of a Yellow-legged Gull in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Near Texel, Netherlands, April 2014]

Lateral portrait of a Yellow-legged Gull in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Berlengas Island, Peniche, Portugal, May 2022]

Close-up lateral view of a Yellow-legged Gull in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Near Texel, Netherlands, April 2014]

Lateral view of a Yellow-legged Gullin breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Peniche, Peniche, Portugal, February 2019]

Lateral view of a Yellow-legged Gull in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Port of Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, September 2020]

Lateral view of a Yellow-legged Gull in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Port of Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, September 2020]

Close-up lateral view of a Yellow-legged Gull in breeding plumage in shady conditions (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Split, Croatia, September 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a Yellow-legged Gull in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Fehmarn, Germany, April 2016]

Dorsal view of a Yellow-legged Gull in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Fehmarn, Germany, April 2016]

Lateral portrait of a Yellow-legged Gull in breeding plumage with a peculiar brownish tinge (photo courtesy of G. Pinelas)
[Cascais, Lisbon, Portugal, September 2018]

Lateral view of a Yellow-legged Gull in breeding plumage with a peculiar brownish tinge (photo courtesy of G. Pinelas)
[Cascais, Lisbon, Portugal, September 2018]

Near-dorsal view of a Yellow-legged Gull in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vila Franca de Xira, Tejo estuary, Portugal, January 2020]

Yellow-legged Gulls in breeding plumage in shallow water (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Cala Gonone, eastern Sardinia, Italy, June 2016]

Near-frontal/ventral view of a Yellow-legged Gull in breeding plumage in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Lagoa dos Salgados, Algarve, Portugal, October 2019]

Near-lateral view of a Yellow-legged Gull in breeding plumage in flight, wings down (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Cabo Raso, Cascais, near Lisbon, Portugal, February 2019]

Near-lateral/ventral view of a Yellow-legged Gull in breeding plumage in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Papoa, Peniche, Leiria, Portugal, January 2023]

Lateral view of a Yellow-legged Gull in breeding plumage in flight, wings up (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Cabo Raso, Cascais, near Lisbon, Portugal, February 2019]

Near-dorsal/ventral view of a Yellow-legged Gull in breeding plumage in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Cabo Raso, Cascais, near Lisbon, Portugal, October 2019]

Dorsal view of Yellow-legged Gulls in breeding plumage departing (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Cala Gonone, eastern Sardinia, Italy, June 2016]

NON-BREEDING

Frontal view of a Yellow-legged Gull in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Port of Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, September 2020]

Frontal view of a Yellow-legged Gull in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Cabo Raso, Cascais, near Lisbon, Portugal, October 2019]

Near-frontal view of a Yellow-legged Gull in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Lisbon, Portugal, November 2019]

Near-lateral view of a Yellow-legged Gull in non-breeding plumage, right, with another in full breeding plumage on the left that has a peculiar brownish tinge on its front (photo courtesy of G. Pinelas)
[Cascais, Lisbon, Portugal, September 2018]

Close-up lateral view of a Yellow-legged Gull in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Split, Croatia, September 2019]

Lateral view of a Yellow-legged Gull in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Port of Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, September 2020]

Lateral view of a Yellow-legged Gull in non-breeding plumage, left, with another in full breeding plumage on the right that has a peculiar brownish tinge on its front (photo courtesy of G. Pinelas)
[Cascais, Lisbon, Portugal, September 2018]

Lateral view of a Yellow-legged Gull in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Cabo Raso, Cascais, near Lisbon, Portugal, October 2019]

Lateral view of a Yellow-legged Gull in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Peniche, Peniche, Portugal, February 2019]

Frontal/ventral view of a Yellow-legged Gull in non-breeding plumage in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2019]

Near-lateral view of a Yellow-legged Gull in non-breeding plumage in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2019]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Near-lateral view of a third-year(?) Yellow-legged Gull (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Port of Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, September 2020]

Lateral view of a somewhat ragged-looking third-year(?) Yellow-legged Gull (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Port of Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, March 2019]

Lateral view of a third-year(?) Yellow-legged Gull (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Port of Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, March 2019]

Dorsal view of a third-year(?) Yellow-legged Gull (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Port of Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, September 2020]

Near-lateral view of a second-winter Yellow-legged Gull (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Peniche, Peniche, Portugal, February 2019]

Lateral view of a second-winter and a first-winter Yellow-legged Gull (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Peniche, Peniche, Portugal, February 2019]

Lateral view of a second-winter Yellow-legged Gull (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Lisbon, Portugal, November 2019]

Near-lateral view of a first-winter Yellow-legged Gull; it has some netting wrapped around one foot (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Caxias beach, Caxias, Oeiras, Portugal, January 2019]

Lateral view of a first-winter Yellow-legged Gull (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Port of Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, March 2019]

Lateral view of a first-year(?) Yellow-legged Gull; this bird was identified by association with the adult shown above
(photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Fehmarn, Germany, April 2016]

Lateral view of a first-year(?) Yellow-legged Gull (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Noordwijk, Netherlands, November 2016]

Near-dorsal view of a first-year(?) Yellow-legged Gull (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Noordwijk, Netherlands, November 2016]

Lateral/ventral view of a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Peniche, Peniche, Portugal, February 2019]

Dorsal view of a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2019]

Race "atlantis"

ADULT

Sex unknown

BREEDING

Frontal view of a Yellow-legged Gull in breeding plumage; on the right, for comparison, a Great Black-backed Gull
(photo courtesy of G. Pinelas)
[Costa da Caparica, Portugal, June 2017]

Near-lateral view of a Yellow-legged Gull in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Lanzarote, Canary Islands, March 2017]

Lateral view of a Yellow-legged Gull in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Port of Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, September 2020]

Lateral view of a Yellow-legged Gull in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Lanzarote, Canary Islands, March 2017]

Lateral view of a Yellow-legged Gull in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Terceira Island, Azores, November 2018]

Near-dorsal view of a Yellow-legged Gull in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Lanzarote, Canary Islands, March 2017]

Near-frontal view of a Yellow-legged Gull in flight (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Lanzarote, Canary Islands, March 2017]

Lateral view of a Yellow-legged Gull in breeding plumage in flight (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Lanzarote, Canary Islands, March 2017]

Lateral/ventral view of a Yellow-legged Gull in breeding plumage in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Pico Island, Azores, November 2018]

NON-BREEDING

Near-lateral view of a Yellow-legged Gull in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Terceira Island, Azores, November 2018]

Near-lateral view of a Yellow-legged Gull in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Pico Island, Azores, November 2018]

Lateral view of a Yellow-legged Gull in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Terceira Island, Azores, November 2018]

Lateral view of a Yellow-legged Gull in non-breeding plumage issuing its call (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Terceira Island, Azores, November 2018]

Near-dorsal view of a Yellow-legged Gull in non-breeding plumage in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Pico Island, Azores, November 2018]

Near-dorsal/ventral view of a Yellow-legged Gull in non-breeding plumage in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Pico Island, Azores, November 2018]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Lateral view of a third-winter Yellow-legged Gull, right, with a first-winter Yellow-legged Gull on the left
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Pico Island, Azores, November 2018]

Full-frontal view of a second-winter Yellow-legged Gull (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Isla Lobos, Canary Islands, March 2017]

Near-frontal view of a second-winter Yellow-legged Gull (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Isla Lobos, Canary Islands, March 2017]

Lateral view of a second-winter Yellow-legged Gull (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Isla Lobos, Canary Islands, March 2017]

Near-dorsal/ventral view of a second-winter Yellow-legged Gull in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Faial Island, Azores, November 2018]

Lateral view of a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Pico Island, Azores, November 2018]

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Territorial

Mobility: Sedentary

Elementary unit: Solitary/mob

Yellow-legged Gulls are listed here as territorial because, although they breed in colonies, they are very protective about their nests within the colony.

Yellow-legged Gulls are sedentary through much of their range (southern Europe). An increasing number is starting to move northward in summer, into central Europe (inland and coastal).

Note that this is a species of gull that does NOT spend much of its life out at sea.

Yellow-legged Gulls are in the habit of swimming with the tail and wings high up, often held higher than the head
(photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Lanzarote, Canary Islands, March 2017]

Yellow-legged Gulls on a favourite roost (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Faial Island, Azores, November 2018]

"You stay off my trotters!" - Yellow-legged Gull in breeding plumage squabbling (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Berlengas Island, Peniche, Portugal, May 2022]

Food, Diet

Yellow-legged Gull with its prey, a fish it has just caught (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Lanzarote, Canary Islands, March 2017]

Juvenile Yellow-legged Gull with its prey, a mussle (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Morraceira island, Figueira da Foz, Mondego estuary, Portugal, January 2023]

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