Completed
Yellow-legged Gull
Larus michahellis
Silhouette: Sharon Wegner-Larsen · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderCharadriiformes (Shorebirds and Allies)
- FamilyLaridae (Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers)
- GenusLarus (Large White-headed Gulls)
- SpeciesLarus michahellis (Yellow-legged Gull)
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
1,269 Verified sightings at Tel Aviv
3,809 In all 12 parks From 2019 to 2026
February 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 →
Recent sightings of Yellow-legged Gull in Tel Aviv
LIVEiNaturalistGlobal Distribution
Parks Where Found
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Camargue | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 2 | Doñana National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 3 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 4 | Hortobágy National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 5 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 6 | Triglav National Park | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | |
| 7 | Kiskunság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 8 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 9 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 10 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 11 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 12 | Monfragüe National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain |
Closest Relatives at Tel Aviv
Before you go
What are the chances of seeing a Yellow-legged Gull in Tel Aviv?
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-legged Gull sighting in Tel Aviv on a given day, based on 1,269 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 27th most-seen of the 232 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
When is the best time to see a Yellow-legged Gull in Tel Aviv?
February
In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-legged Gull in Tel Aviv on a given day, against about 10% in July to October, the lowest months. That is one of Tel Aviv's wettest months, with about 60 mm of rain against almost none in August.
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 Tel Aviv the best place to see a Yellow-legged Gull?
20th of 41
Of the 41 cities where we can rate Yellow-legged Gull sightings, Tel Aviv ranks 20th at about 30%. The best odds are in Tangier (Morocco, over 90%), Rome (Italy, about 90%) and Naples (Italy, about 90%).
Which relatives of the Yellow-legged Gull live in Tel Aviv?
Same genus: Larus
The closest relatives of the Yellow-legged Gull that you can see in Tel Aviv (genus Larus, Large White-headed Gulls) are Armenian Gull (about 20%) and Lesser Black-backed Gull (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
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 Tel Aviv (1,269 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.
