Vega Gull Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesVega Gull
Breeding adult
A large, highly variable gull with a heavy bill. Breeding adult has bright yellow bill with red mark near tip, white head and underparts, and black wingtips with white spots. Upperparts range from medium to dark gray. Legs in breeding plumage are typically bright pink. Eye color is often dark but can be yellowish as in this individual.
© Ian Davies / Macaulay LibraryAlaska, May 22, 2013Nonbreeding adult
Nonbreeding adult has variable streaking on the head, neck, and upper breast. Both the bill and legs are paler than in breeding adults.
© Graham Gerdeman / Macaulay LibraryMiyazaki, February 03, 2023Breeding adult
A large, heavy-billed gull. Breeding adult has white head and underparts, a yellow bill with red spot near tip, pink legs, gray upperparts, and black wingtips with limited white visible at rest.
© Josep del Hoyo / Macaulay LibrarySakha, July 02, 2019Nonbreeding adult
Adult in flight has black wingtips with white tips to the feathers and two large white spots (“mirrors”) in the outermost primaries. Note also the fairly wide white trailing edge to the wings and the dusky underwings.
© Graham Gerdeman / Macaulay LibraryKumamoto, February 01, 2023Juvenile
Juvenile has brown head and underparts with diffuse light markings. Brown upperpart feathers are heavily edged with buffy white, creating a scaly look. Note black bill, dark eye, blackish wingtips, and pale pink legs.
© Julio Mulero / Macaulay LibraryAlaska, September 01, 2022Nonbreeding adult
Nonbreeding adult is like breeding adult, but with streaking on head, neck, and upper breast. Typically occurs along the coast of East Asia during the winter.
© Josep del Hoyo / Macaulay LibraryChiba, January 22, 2010Juvenile
In flight, note juvenile’s whitish rump (contrasting with brown tip to tail) and conspicuous pale “panel” in the inner primaries.
© Alvaro Jaramillo / Macaulay LibraryIbaraki, February 01, 2024Juvenile
Breeds exclusively in northeastern Siberia except for a small nesting population on St. Lawrence Island, Alaska, in the Bering Sea.
© Cory Gregory / Macaulay LibraryAlaska, September 20, 2016Breeding adult
An opportunistic forager and scavenger, feeding on garbage, carrion, fish, marine invertebrates, mammals, and other seabirds.
© Josep del Hoyo / Macaulay LibrarySakha, July 02, 2019First summer
Individuals typically take four years to attain full adult plumage. First-summer birds are highly variable, showing a mix of juvenile plumage, new feathers on the head, back, and underparts, and older feathers that can be significantly bleached.
© Bryce Robinson / Macaulay LibraryAlaska, July 15, 2016Second winter
Second-year birds gradually become lighter than juveniles, showing some gray on the back.
© Alvaro Jaramillo / Macaulay LibraryIbaraki, February 01, 2024Third winter
Mainly a coastal species of East Asia during the winter, visiting harbors, beaches, and coastal wetlands and estuaries.
© Graham Gerdeman / Macaulay LibraryHokkaido, January 28, 2023Similar SpeciesSlaty-backed Gull
Breeding adult
Adult Slaty-backed Gull has darker gray upperparts than adult Vega Gull, although some Vega Gulls can appear nearly as dark as some Slaty-backed Gulls. Second- and third-year Slaty-backed Gulls also have a darker mantle than similarly aged Vega Gulls. In general, Slaty-backed Gull is fuller-bodied (with a potbelly) than Vega Gull.
© Ian Davies / Macaulay LibraryAlaska, May 22, 2013Similar SpeciesSlaty-backed Gull
First year
Slaty-backed Gull is slightly larger and heavier than Vega Gull, with a heavier bill and shorter wingtips. First-winter Slaty-backed Gull has less strongly patterned upperparts than first-winter Vega Gull, with brownish (rather than blackish) wingtips.
© Ian Davies / Macaulay LibraryHokkaido, December 27, 2013Similar SpeciesAmerican Herring Gull
Breeding adult
American Herring Gull and Vega Gull ranges don’t normally overlap. The two species were previously treated as part of the same species (Herring Gull) and are very similar. Adult American Herring Gull has lighter gray upperparts than adult Vega Gull. Adult American Herring Gull has a yellow eye surrounded by an orange-yellow eyering, while Vega Gull has a dark red eyering and usually dark eyes (can be light in some individuals).
© Simon Boivin / Macaulay LibraryQuebec, July 19, 2019Similar SpeciesMongolian Gull
Nonbreeding adult
Mongolian Gull and Vega Gull were previously treated as part of the same species (Herring Gull) and are extremely similar. Nonbreeding adult Mongolian Gull is largely white-headed, with limited streaking confined to the hindneck. Nonbreeding adult Vega Gulls are often quite heavily streaked on the head and neck, and at the very least, there is usually some streaking on the head. Mongolian Gull tends to have lighter gray upperparts and duller legs (ranging from pink to yellowish) than Vega Gull.
© Yann Muzika / Macaulay LibraryHokkaido, December 25, 2022Compare with Similar Species
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Species in This Family
Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers(Order: Charadriiformes, Family: Laridae)
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