Yellow-legged Gull - Larus michahellis

(last update: October 08 2013)

Coordinators:
Delfín González
Gabriel Martín
Antonio Gutierrez
Amir Ben Dov
Mars Muusse

Larus michahellis - 4CY / sub-adult May

This website deals with the Yellow-legged Gull taxon michahellis, which is a common migrant from July to December in NW Europe. After extensive expansion of the breeding population during the last three decades, it nowadays can be found breeding in Belgium, the Netherlands and Britain in mixed couples with both Herring Gull (argenteus) and Lesser Black-backed Gull (graellsii). There are subtle differences between the populations from the Mediterranean, Atlantic coast of Portugal and Morocco and from the islands in the Atlantic. Most pronounced differences can be found in the taxon atlantis, now regarded as full species by some authors and birds along the Atlantic coast of the Iberian peninsular: lusitanius. Both atlantis and lusitanius are treated in their own sections on this website.

2cy michahellis in August, ringed in Switzerland.Yellow-legged Gull michahellis 4CY IVBN May 28 2010, Livorno, Italy. Picture: Alessio Franceschi.

adult michahellis in April. (61415 bytes)Yellow-legged Gull michahellis U0AB 2CY, 4CY & 5CY, February 2011, May 2013 & April 2014, Israel. Picture: Amir Ben Dov.
adult michahellis in April. (61415 bytes)Yellow-legged Gull michahellis sub-adult, May 30 2011, Tel Aviv - University Garden, Israel. Picture: Amir Ben Dov.
adult michahellis in April. (61415 bytes)Yellow-legged Gull michahellis sub-adult, May 06 2011, Tel Aviv - University Garden, Israel. Picture: Amir Ben Dov.
adult michahellis in July. (62792 bytes)Yellow-legged Gull michahellis 4CY, May 03 2008, Gibraltar, UK. Picture: Nelson Gomes.