Yellow-legged Gull: how to recognise it
A bird of Europe, Africa and Asia. Learn the marks that make it easy to identify, then practise with real photographs in Lore.
Practise with real photosAll species guides
Photo © Jörg Hempel · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist · all photo credits
- Scientific name
- Larus michahellis
- Family
- Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers
- Size
- About 56 cm
- Habitat
- Coasts and inland lakes
- Found in
- Europe, Africa and Asia
The key marks
Yellow legs, a darker grey back and a red spot on the bill. Herring Gull has pink legs and a paler back.
Voice
A deeper, harder laugh than Herring Gull.
Good to know
It has spread north from the Mediterranean in recent decades.
Do not confuse with
Compare it with the European Herring Gull. Look at the marks above one by one rather than the overall colour, and practise telling the two apart with real photos.
Where and when
You can expect to find it in coasts and inland lakes. It is especially common in Greece, Türkiye, Spain and Morocco. Distribution changes with the seasons and from year to year, so check a recent local observation source before you go looking.