European Herring Gull

Larus argentatus

Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Laridae
Presence in the Strait: Vagrant
IUCN (global): LC · Least concern
In Spanish: Gaviota argentea europea

Photograph: Stu's Images, CC BY-SA, vía iNaturalist

Length: 54–60 cm
Wingspan: 123–148 cm
Weight: 900–1,050 g

Presence in the Strait

Accidental. Three records of controlled birds: Two from the United Kingdom at Algeciras on 10.01.55 and at Barbate on 2.12.65; and one from Denmark at Algeciras on 14.12.85. It could occur more often, taking into account that there may be birds present with Yellow-legged Gull flocks, as they were formerly considered to be the same species. It is distributed along coasts of United Kingdom and Scandanavia, as far South as NW France.

Identification

Similar to a Yellow-legged Gull but with pinkish legs; in winter head and neck more streaked. Juveniles are very similar to those of a Yellow-legged Gull but darker with less prominent tail pattern.

Ring recoveries

United Kingdom (2), Holland (2) and Denmark (1).

Bioestrecho editorial text. Last revised: 8 September 2026.

Photographs from iNaturalist observations with the licence checked file by file. Those marked “Strait” were taken within the area; place and date are those of each observation.

Calendar in the Strait

18 %

Peak in March. Observations under CC0 or CC BY licences. The distribution also reflects observation effort.

Where it is seen

Open records from the atlas database, in cells of about 3.6 km. Opacity follows the square root of the count, and also reflects where people observe most.

See on the map

First open record: 10 May 1984
Latest record: 5 March 2023

The oldest and the most recent open observation in the extended area. A recent first observation does not mean the species is new: it means nobody had published it openly before.

Conservation

The catalogues, Andalusian and Spanish, are what binds; the Red Book assesses the Spanish population with IUCN criteria, and the global Red List is the context.

LCNTVUENCR

Andalusian Catalogue: Not included
Spanish Catalogue: Not included
Red Book of the Birds of Spain 2021: NE · Not evaluated · wintering or migrating
Global Red List (IUCN): LC · Least concern

Andalusian Catalogue: Junta de Andalucía, list of 24 April 2025. Spanish Catalogue: MITECO, table of 30 June 2025. Red Book: SEO/BirdLife, 2021 (Annex I). IUCN: via GBIF, 6 September 2026. Red Book and IUCN categories are assessments; catalogue categories are legal obligations.

Where they come from

5 birds ringed in other countries and recovered in the area.

United Kingdom2
Netherlands2
Denmark1

See the journey on the map

Same genus in the Strait

Lesser Black-backed Gull52–67 cm · Seasonal · overlapping size
Yellow-legged Gull55–67 cm · Resident · overlapping size
Iceland Gull52–60 cm · Vagrant · overlapping size
Audouin´s Gull48–52 cm · Seasonal
Mediterranean Gull36–38 cm · Seasonal

Species of the same genus that also occur here, ordered by how close they are in size. Being relatives does not mean they are confused in the field, but that is where the doubts start: compare size and season.

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Laridae
GBIF taxon key: 2481139

Sources

Distribution and calendar: Bioestrecho's own database, ingested from GBIF and OBIS
Photograph: Stu's Images, CC BY-SA, vía iNaturalist
Taxonomy: GBIF backbone, pending WoRMS for marine taxa
Editorial text: written by Bioestrecho
Last revised: 8 September 2026

European Herring Gull

Presence in the Strait

Identification

Ring recoveries

Gallery