Chroicocephalus hartlaubii
Silhouette: Michael Scroggie · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
Hartlaub's gull (Chroicocephalus hartlaubii) is a small gull in the genus Chroicocephalus. It was formerly (as with other related gulls) placed in the genus Larus until genetic research demonstrated that the old broad view of that genus was paraphyletic.
The species' name commemorates the German physician and zoologist, Gustav Hartlaub. In the past, it was also sometimes known as "king gull". Hartlaub's gull is 37–39 cm in length, with a wingspan of 89–92 cm and a weight of 235–340 g. It is a mainly white gull with a grey back and upperwings, black wingtips with conspicuous white "mirrors", and a dark red bill and legs. When breeding it has a very faint lavender grey hood, but otherwise... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Coast National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | De Hoop Nature Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Namib-Naukluft National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 5 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 6 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 7 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Hartlaub's Gull sighting in Table Mountain National Park on a given day, based on 4,293 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 14th most-seen of the 223 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June
In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Hartlaub's Gull in Table Mountain National Park on a given day, against about 30% in May, August and October, the lowest months. That is one of Table Mountain National Park's wettest months, with about 110 mm of rain against 15 mm in February.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Hartlaub's 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.
2nd of 7
Of the 7 parks where we can rate Hartlaub's Gull sightings, Table Mountain National Park ranks 2nd at about 40%. The best odds are in West Coast National Park (South Africa, about 80%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Hartlaub's Gull is recorded against all the birds logged in Table Mountain National Park (4,293 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.
