Chroicocephalus serranus
Silhouette: Michael Scroggie · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
The Andean gull (Chroicocephalus serranus) is a species in subfamily Larinae of the family Laridae, the gulls, terns, and skimmers. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. The Andean gull was long placed in genus Larus. Genetic research has established that Larus sensu lato is paraphyletic so the American Ornithological Society, the International Ornithological Committee, and the Clements taxonomy moved it and 10 other gulls to genus Chroicocephalus. However, BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World retains all of them in Larus. The systems agree that the Andean gull is monotypic.
The Andean gull is 42 to 48 cm (17 to 19 in) long and weighs about 480 g (17 oz); it is one of the larger members of its genus. The sexes are alike. Adults in breeding plumage have a glossy black hood with a white crescent behind the eye and a mostly white body with a gray back and sometimes a pink flush on the underparts. Their tail is white. The upper side of their wing is mostly gray with an alternating white-black-white-black pattern on the primaries. The underside of their wing is pale gray with a blackish... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lauca National Park | 🇨🇱 Chile |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | La Paz | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 2 | Cochabamba | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 3 | Lima | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 4 | Quito | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 5 | Arequipa | 🇵🇪 Peru |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bioparque Municipal Vesty Pakos | 🇧🇴 Bolivia |
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report an Andean Gull sighting in Lauca National Park on a given day, based on 867 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 12th most-seen of the 112 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.
February–March and July
In those months about 70% of wildlife watchers report an Andean Gull in Lauca National Park on a given day, against about 40% in August and September, the lowest months. Those are among Lauca National Park's wettest months, with about 85 mm of rain a month against almost none in May.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Andean 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.
Only Lauca National Park, in our data
Lauca National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Andean Gull sightings: about 50% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same order: Charadriiformes
The closest relatives of the Andean Gull that you can see in Lauca National Park (order Charadriiformes, Shorebirds and Allies) are Andean Lapwing (about 40%), Gray-breasted Seedsnipe (about 40%) and Andean Avocet (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Andean Gull is recorded against all the birds logged in Lauca National Park (867 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
