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Difference between revisions of "Yellow-legged Gull" - BirdForum Opus

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(Attempt to disguise copied text. Picture of juvenile. References updated. OBI link removed)
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==Identification==
 
==Identification==
−
Grey back, black wing tips with few white spots, red spot on the bill as adults, red ring around the eye.
+
52–58 cm (20½-22¾ in)<br />
−
[[Image:Yellow-legged_Gull_flight_by_Robert_L_Jarvis.jpg|thumb|450px|right|''L. m. atlantis'' <br />Photo by {{user|Robert+L+Jarvis|Robert L Jarvis}} <br />[[Lanzarote]], December 2010.]]
+
'''Adult'''
−
First-year birds have a dark bill and eyes, pinkish grey legs, dark flight feathers and a well-defined black band on the tail. By their second winter, birds are essentially feathered like adults, apart from the patterned feathers remaining on the wing coverts. However, their billtips are black, their eyes still dark, and the legs are a light yellow.
+
*Grey back
−
 
+
*Black wing tips with few white spots
 +
*Red spot on the bill
 +
*Red eye-ring<br />
 +
[[Image:Yellow-legged_Gull_flight_by_Robert_L_Jarvis.jpg|thumb|350px|right|''L. m. atlantis'' <br />Photo by {{user|Robert+L+Jarvis|Robert L Jarvis}} <br />[[Lanzarote]], December 2010.]]
 +
'''First-year'''
 +
*Ddark bill and eyes
 +
*Pinky-grey legs
 +
*Blackish flight feathers
 +
*Black band on the tail<br />
 +
'''Second winter'''
 +
*Almost adult plumage
 +
*Retaining feather patterning on the wing [[Topography#General Anatomy|coverts]]
 +
*Black bill tips
 +
*Dark eyes
 +
*Pale yellow legs
 +
==Similar Species====
 
[http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=9361 ID discussion] on how to distinguish Caspian (''L. cachinnans'') and Yellow-legged Gull (''L. michahellis'' and ''L. m. atlantis'').
 
[http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=9361 ID discussion] on how to distinguish Caspian (''L. cachinnans'') and Yellow-legged Gull (''L. michahellis'' and ''L. m. atlantis'').
 
====Variation====
 
====Variation====
 
Western birds (subspecies ''atlantis'') has a darker mantle than more easterly birds.
 
Western birds (subspecies ''atlantis'') has a darker mantle than more easterly birds.
 
==Distribution==
 
==Distribution==
 +
[[Image:P8300437m.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Juvenile<br />Photo by {{user|Cristian+Mihai|Cristian Mihai}}<br />Agigea, Constanta, [[Romania]], August 2011]]
 
[[Europe]] and North [[Africa]].
 
[[Europe]] and North [[Africa]].
−
 
 
==Taxonomy==
 
==Taxonomy==
 
[[Caspian Gull]] is included by some authorities in Yellow-legged Gull. The scientific name for the species would then be ''Larus cachinnans''.
 
[[Caspian Gull]] is included by some authorities in Yellow-legged Gull. The scientific name for the species would then be ''Larus cachinnans''.
−
 
+
====Subspecies====
 +
There are 2 subspecies<sup>[[#References|[1]]]</sup>:
 
Subspecies of the Yellow-legged Gull:
 
Subspecies of the Yellow-legged Gull:
 
*''L. m. michahellis''
 
*''L. m. michahellis''
Line 25: Line 41:
 
Fields and coasts.
 
Fields and coasts.
 
==Behaviour==
 
==Behaviour==
−
They are scavengers and hunt suitable small prey in fields or on the coast, or rob plovers or lapwings of their catches.
+
====Diet====
−
 
+
They are scavengers and also rob other birds of their catches. Their varied diet consists of fish, invertebrates, mammals, rodents, birds eggs and chicks. Also refuse and offal.
−
They breed in colonies.  The nest is a mound of vegetation built on the ground or on cliff ledges. 3 eggs are laid and are incubated for 27-31 days; the young fledge after 35-40 days.
+
====Breeding====
 +
They breed in colonies.  The nest is a mound of vegetation built on the ground or on cliff ledges. The clutch consists of 3 eggs which are incubated for 27-31 days; the young fledge after 35-40 days.
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
−
# Clements JF. 2007. ''The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World''. 6th ed., with updates to October 2007. Cornell University Press. ISBN 9780801445019
+
#{{Ref-Clements6thAug15}}#{{Ref-HM03Cor8}}#{{Ref-SibleyMonroe96}}#Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved November 2015)
−
# Dickinson EC (ed.) 2003. ''The Howard & Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World''. 3rd ed. Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton, NJ, USA. ISBN 9780691117010
+
{{ref}}
−
# Sibley CG & Monroe BL. 1996. ''Birds of the World'', on diskette, Windows version 2.0. Charles G. Sibley, Santa Rosa, CA, USA.
 
−
 
 
 
==External Links==
 
==External Links==
 
{{GSearch|Larus+michahellis}}
 
{{GSearch|Larus+michahellis}}
 
<br />
 
<br />
 
{{Video|Yellow_legged_Gull}}
 
{{Video|Yellow_legged_Gull}}
−
*[http://www.orientalbirdimages.org/birdimages.php?action=birdspecies&Bird_ID=941&Bird_Image_ID=938&Bird_Family_ID=104 View more images of this species on Orientalbirdimages]
+
 
 
[[Category:Birds]][[Category:Larus]][[Category:Videos]]
 
[[Category:Birds]][[Category:Larus]][[Category:Videos]]

Revision as of 23:49, 6 December 2015

L. m. michahellis
Photo by mikemik
Strunjan, Slovenia.
Larus michahellis

Identification

52–58 cm (20½-22¾ in)
Adult

  • Grey back
  • Black wing tips with few white spots
  • Red spot on the bill
  • Red eye-ring
L. m. atlantis
Photo by Robert L Jarvis
Lanzarote, December 2010.

First-year

  • Ddark bill and eyes
  • Pinky-grey legs
  • Blackish flight feathers
  • Black band on the tail

Second winter

  • Almost adult plumage
  • Retaining feather patterning on the wing coverts
  • Black bill tips
  • Dark eyes
  • Pale yellow legs

Similar Species==

ID discussion on how to distinguish Caspian (L. cachinnans) and Yellow-legged Gull (L. michahellis and L. m. atlantis).

Variation

Western birds (subspecies atlantis) has a darker mantle than more easterly birds.

Distribution

Juvenile
Photo by Cristian Mihai
Agigea, Constanta, Romania, August 2011

Europe and North Africa.

Taxonomy

Caspian Gull is included by some authorities in Yellow-legged Gull. The scientific name for the species would then be Larus cachinnans.

Subspecies

There are 2 subspecies[1]: Subspecies of the Yellow-legged Gull:

  • L. m. michahellis
  • Breeds in the Mediterranean
  • L. m. atlantis
  • Breeds on Atlantic shores adjacent to the Mediterranean.

Habitat

Fields and coasts.

Behaviour

Diet

They are scavengers and also rob other birds of their catches. Their varied diet consists of fish, invertebrates, mammals, rodents, birds eggs and chicks. Also refuse and offal.

Breeding

They breed in colonies. The nest is a mound of vegetation built on the ground or on cliff ledges. The clutch consists of 3 eggs which are incubated for 27-31 days; the young fledge after 35-40 days.

References

  1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2015. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2015, with updates to August 2015. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
  2. Dickinson, EC, ed. 2003. The Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. 3rd ed., with updates to October 2008 (Corrigenda 8). Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0691117010
  3. Sibley, CG and BL Monroe. 1996. Birds of the World, on diskette, Windows version 2.0. Charles G. Sibley, Santa Rosa, CA, USA.
  4. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved November 2015)

Recommended Citation

External Links


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