Chroicocephalus hartlaubii
Silhouette: Michael Scroggie · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
Hartlaub's gull (Chroicocephalus hartlaubii) is a small gull in the genus Chroicocephalus. It was formerly (as with other related gulls) placed in the genus Larus until genetic research demonstrated that the old broad view of that genus was paraphyletic.
The species' name commemorates the German physician and zoologist, Gustav Hartlaub. In the past, it was also sometimes known as "king gull". Hartlaub's gull is 37–39 cm in length, with a wingspan of 89–92 cm and a weight of 235–340 g. It is a mainly white gull with a grey back and upperwings, black wingtips with conspicuous white "mirrors", and a dark red bill and legs. When breeding it has a very faint lavender grey hood, but otherwise... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Coast National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | De Hoop Nature Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Namib-Naukluft National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 5 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 6 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 7 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Hartlaub's Gull sighting in Cape Town on a given day, based on 2,526 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 11th most-seen of the 196 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April and June–July
In those months about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Hartlaub's Gull in Cape Town on a given day, against about 50% in May and August–March, the lowest months. Those are among Cape Town's wettest months, with about 100 mm of rain a month against 15 mm in February.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Hartlaub's Gull sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 2 cities where we can rate Hartlaub's Gull sightings, Cape Town has the highest daily chance: about 50%. Next come Maputo (Mozambique, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Hartlaub's Gull is recorded against all the birds logged in Cape Town (2,526 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
