Bird Guide

California Gull vs Yellow-legged Gull

California Gull (Larus californicus)

California Gull

Larus californicus

Large683 gCoastal

Adults are similar in appearance to the herring gull, but with brown eyes, yellow legs, and a more rounded head. The body is mainly white with grey back and upper wings. The bill is yellow with a black ring and red spot near the tip. They have black primaries with white tips. Immature birds are also similar in appearance to immature herring gulls, with browner plumage than immature ring-billed gulls. Length can range from 46 to 55 cm (18 to 22 in), the wingspan 122–137 cm (48–54 in) and body mass can vary from 430 to 1,045 g (0.948 to 2.304 lb).

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recording: Quinn Desilets · CC0
Photo: Eric Austin · CC BY 4.0
Yellow-legged Gull (Larus michahellis)

Yellow-legged Gull

Larus michahellis

Large1.1 kgCoastal

The yellow-legged gull is a large gull, though the size does vary, with the smallest females being scarcely larger than a common gull and the largest males being roughly the size of a great black-backed gull. They range in length from 52 to 68 cm (20 to 27 in) in total length, from 120 to 155 cm (47 to 61 in) in wingspan and from 550 to 1,600 g (1.21 to 3.53 lb) in weight. Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 40.8 to 47.2 cm (16.1 to 18.6 in), the bill is 4.6 to 6 cm (1.8 to 2.4 in) and the tarsus is 5.6 to 7.5 cm (2.2 to 3.0 in).

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recording: Giovanni Francesco Tartarelli · CC BY 4.0
Photo: Thorsten Hackbarth · CC BY 4.0

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: California Gull and Yellow-legged Gull.