Vega Gull

How to identify

Field marks

1. Back slightly darker gray than in European Herring Gull
2. Legs usually bright pink
3. Adult bill yellow with a single red spot
4. Head and neck densely marked with rufous stripes in winter, forming a collar

Male, female and young

First- and second-winter immatures have dark brown spots and stripes over almost the entire body. The bill may be almost entirely dark gray to black, with the gray gradually decreasing as they mature.

Similar species

Mongolian Gull

In the first and second winters, juvenile Vega Gull is darker than Mongolian Gull, especially on the crown.

Slaty-backed Gull

Winter adults are easily confused with Slaty-backed Gull; Vega Gull is paler gray.

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: May–June and September · Most records: United States, South Korea, Japan

Vega Gull has been recorded at 347 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 6 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

1. GambellUnited States5,407 records
2. St. Paul IslandUnited States1,117 records
3. Edogawa Ward – Kasai Rinkai Park / Kasai Kaihin ParkJapan334 records

Countries and regions with the most records

United StatesSouth KoreaJapanChinaRussiaPhilippines

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The Vega gull, East Siberian gull, or East Siberian herring gull (Larus vegae) is a large gull of the herring gull/lesser black-backed gull complex which breeds in Northeast Asia. Its classification is still controversial and uncertain. It is variously treated as a separate species, as a subspecies of the American herring gull (L. smithsonianus) or included with both the American herring gull and European herring gull in L. argentatus.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

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