Yellow-legged Gull

Yellow-legged Gull

Larus michahellis

Silhouette: Sharon Wegner-Larsen · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~70% · Very likely
at Casablanca

In 3 days >90%

126 Verified sightings at Casablanca
3,809 In all 12 parks From 2019 to 2026
November Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Yellow-legged Gull

The yellow-legged gull or western yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis) is a large gull found in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, which has only recently achieved wide recognition as a distinct species. It was formerly treated as a subspecies of either the Caspian gull L. cachinnans, or more broadly as a subspecies of the herring gull L. argentatus.

The genus name is from Latin Larus which appears to have referred to a gull or other large seabird, and the species name honours the German zoologist Karl Michahelles. It is now generally accepted that the yellow-legged gull is a full species, but until recently there was much disagreement. For example, British Birds magazine split the yellow-legged gull from the herring gull in 1993 but included the Caspian gull in the former, but the BOU in Great Britain retained the yellow-legged gull as a subspecies of the herring gull until 2007. DNA research, however, suggests that the yellow-legged gull is actually closest to the great black-backed gull L. marinus and the Armenian gull L. armenicus, while the Caspian gull is closer to the herring gull and the lesser black-backed gull L. fuscus, rather than being each... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:17

Italy · 2026

© Francesco Sottile · XC1181929 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Alarm call0:21

France · 2026

© Thierry THOMAS · XC1093152 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Nocturnal flight call0:43

France · 2025

© Greg P · XC980189 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Camargue 🇫🇷 France
~70%
2 Doñana National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~30%
3 Fertő-Hanság National Park 🇭🇺 Hungary
~30%
4 Hortobágy National Park 🇭🇺 Hungary
~20%
5 Bavarian Forest National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
~20%
6 Triglav National Park 🇸🇮 Slovenia
~10%
7 Kiskunság National Park 🇭🇺 Hungary
~10%
8 Cévennes National Park 🇫🇷 France
<5%
9 Sierra de Guadarrama National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
<5%
10 Pyrénées National Park 🇫🇷 France
<5%
11 Wadden Sea National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
<5%
12 Monfragüe National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Tangier 🇲🇦 Morocco
>90%
2 Rome 🇮🇹 Italy
~90%
3 Naples 🇮🇹 Italy
~90%
4 Istanbul 🇹🇷 Turkey
~90%
5 Izmir 🇹🇷 Turkey
~80%
6 Porto 🇵🇹 Portugal
~80%
7 Casablanca 🇲🇦 Morocco
~70%
8 Athens 🇬🇷 Greece
~70%
9 Algiers 🇩🇿 Algeria
~70%
10 Barcelona 🇪🇸 Spain
~70%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Zoorasia 🇯🇵 Japan In captivity
2 bioparco 🇮🇹 Italy In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Yellow-legged Gull in Casablanca?

Very likely

About 70% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-legged Gull sighting in Casablanca on a given day, based on 126 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 5th most-seen of the 45 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Yellow-legged Gull in Casablanca?

November

In that month over 90% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-legged Gull in Casablanca on a given day, against about 50% in February, October and December, the lowest months. That is one of Casablanca's wettest months, with about 100 mm of rain against almost none in June. July has too few records to rate.

What time of day is best to see a Yellow-legged Gull?

Between 8 and 11 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Yellow-legged Gull sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Casablanca the best place to see a Yellow-legged Gull?

7th of 41

Of the 41 cities where we can rate Yellow-legged Gull sightings, Casablanca ranks 7th at about 70%. The best odds are in Tangier (Morocco, over 90%), Rome (Italy, about 90%) and Naples (Italy, about 90%).

Where does the Yellow-legged Gull sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Yellow-legged Gull is recorded against all the birds logged in Casablanca (126 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.

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