Larus schistisagus
Silhouette: Sharon Wegner-Larsen · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10%
The slaty-backed gull (Larus schistisagus) is a large, white-headed gull that breeds on the north-eastern coast of the Palearctic, but travels widely during nonbreeding seasons. It is similar in appearance to the western gull and the glaucous-winged gull. Another alternate name is Pacific gull, though it also applies to a Southern Hemisphere species, L. pacificus.
The genus name is from Latin larus, which appears to have referred to a gull or other large seabird. The specific schistisagus is from Neo-Latin schistus, "slate", and Latin sagus, "cloak". The Slaty-backed Gull is native to the Pacific coast of northeastern Asia. Individuals have strayed to various places throughout North America, including Alaska, New England and Texas. On 3 November 2012, an individual was spotted in Finland. The species has only been spotted three times before in Europe.
It is tied with the yellow-footed gull for fourth-largest gull species, measuring 55–68.5 cm (21.7–27.0 in) in length, 132–160 cm (52–63 in) in wingspan, and 1.05–1.7 kg (2.3–3.7 lb) in weight. Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 40 to 48 cm (16 to 19 in),... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sapporo | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 2 | Busan | 🇰🇷 South Korea | |
| 3 | Tokyo | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 4 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Nagoya | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 7 | Seoul | 🇰🇷 South Korea | |
| 8 | Osaka | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 9 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Slaty-backed Gull sighting in Los Angeles on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 193rd most-seen of the 426 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Slaty-backed Gull in Los Angeles on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Slaty-backed 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.
5th of 9
Of the 9 cities where we can rate Slaty-backed Gull sightings, Los Angeles ranks 5th at under 5%. The best odds are in Sapporo (Japan, about 10%), Busan (South Korea, about 10%) and Tokyo (Japan, under 5%).
Same genus: Larus
The closest relatives of the Slaty-backed Gull that you can see in Los Angeles (genus Larus, Large White-headed Gulls) are Western Gull (about 30%), California Gull (about 20%) and Ring-billed Gull (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Slaty-backed Gull is recorded against all the birds logged in Los Angeles (6 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.
