Larus vegae
In 3 days <5%
The Vega gull, East Siberian gull, or East Siberian herring gull (Larus vegae) is a large gull of the herring gull/lesser black-backed gull complex which breeds in Northeast Asia. Its classification is still controversial and uncertain. It is variously treated as a separate species, as a subspecies of the American herring gull (L. smithsonianus) or included with both the American herring gull and European herring gull in L. argentatus. The Mongolian gull Larus mongolicus was formerly regarded as a subspecies of Vega gull. It was described in 1887 from specimens collected on the 1878–1880 Vega Expedition on the Swedish ship SS Vega.
The Vega gull is similar to the herring gull but is slightly darker grey above. The head of the Vega gull is heavily streaked with brown in winter, especially on the back and sides of the neck forming a collar. The legs are usually bright pink. First- and second-winter Vega gulls are darker than the similar Mongolian gull, notably on the crown of the head where Mongolian gulls even in first- and second-winter are a bit paler. Almost the full body of first- and second-winter Vega gulls displays darker brown flecks and streaks. Adult... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zhuhai Chimelong Ocean Kingdom | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 2 | 杭州野生动物世界 | 🇨🇳 China |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Vega Gull sighting in Los Angeles on a given day, based on 71 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 354th most-seen of the 426 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Vega Gull in Los Angeles on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Vega 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.
12th of 12
Of the 12 cities where we can rate Vega Gull sightings, Los Angeles ranks 12th at under 5%. The best odds are in Busan (South Korea, about 10%), Seoul (South Korea, about 10%) and Hiroshima (Japan, under 5%).
Same genus: Larus
The closest relatives of the Vega 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 Vega Gull is recorded against all the birds logged in Los Angeles (71 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.
