| Yellow-legged Gull Larus michahellis (aka Larus cachinnans) |
||||
 |
The Yellow-legged Gull was often included as a sub-species of the Herring Gull Larus argentatus but DNA evidence shows it to be a species in its own right. In fact, it seems to be more closely related to Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus which probably illustrates that all 3 species had a common ancestor in the "recent" past (the Pleistocene). |
|||
 |
It largely replaces Herring Gull in Europe outside Scandinavia and the north-west Atlantic seaboard so is mainly a Mediterranean bird within Europe. See the distribution map at Birdlife International. | |||
 |
It looks and acts very like Herring Gull but its yellow legs are the most obvious difference. It also has a larger head, more bulbous forehead, flatter crown, fuller neck and stronger bill. It has a red orbital ring. Winter plumaged birds have greyish markings on the head as in the first photo. | |||
 |
||||
|
| If you do not see a menu on the left, you may have arrived at this page from another site. Please click Home to get to my main page. |