Introduction

The systematics of the various races of Herring Gull Larus argentatus (sensu Cramp and Simmons 1983) is highly complex and in a state of considerable uncertainty. Broadly, three main divisions have been recognised within the Western Palearctic:

1. The nominate ‘argentatus’ group (including L. a. argentatus and the British breeding race L. a. argenteus), mostly pink legged and occurring in the north of the region.
2. The southern or ‘cachinnans’ group (including L. a. atlantis, L. a. michahellis and L. a. cachinnans),
   all yellow legged; centred around the Mediterranean, but extending east to central Asia.
3. The race L. a. armenicus, from eastern Turkey and western Iran, also yellow legged.

Many authorities now accord specific status to both the ‘cachinnans’ group (as the Yellow-legged Gull L. cachinnans) and L. a. armenicus
(as the Armenian Gull L. armenicus).

Events in Doncaster

Individual birds showing characters of the ‘cachinnans’ group occur in the D.D.O.S. study area, and until the taxonomic position is less vexed, it has been decided to follow the lead of British Birds magazine, and adopt specific status for Yellow-legged Gull (Brit. Birds 86: 1-2). By doing so, it is hoped to focus greater attention on these gulls, to help elucidate their true local status and distribution, and thereby contribute to a wider understanding of their movements and occurrence. It should, however, be noted that this taxonomic decision has not yet been reached by the British Ornithologists’ Union Records Committee.

The decision adds a further species to the Doncaster list, and also increases the number requiring an adequate description for official acceptance. The first local record occurred in 1986, when an unaged gull was reported from Old Denaby on 14th December (Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union Ornithological Report for 1986: 61).
All subsequent sightings have come from Broomhill Ings, virtually all involving adult or near-adult birds.  They comprise:

1988:      Singles on 19th February, 24th October and 26th October.
              (Details in Barnsley Area Bird Report 1988: 47-49).

1989:     Noted on 23 dates between 28th July and 27th October.
              (Not 27th November as in the D.D.O.S. Report).
              All were singles except two on 27th August, and possibly six individuals were differentiated.
              These included third-year birds on the 28th July and 27th August (the latter with an adult),
              and a third- or fourth-year bird on 8th September.

1990:     Reported between 6th July and 17th October, an estimated five individuals on 13 dates, including a second- or third-year gull on three July dates.

1991:     Two records, a third-summer gull on 15th August and an adult two days later.

Field identification of adults.

Adult Yellow-legged Gulls are relatively straightforward, given good views of standing birds, and the comparisons which follow are with the British breeding race of Herring Gull L. a. argenteus.
Yellow-legged Gull is generally slightly larger and always looks neat and clean, even in winter.
The mantle is darker grey (similar to Common Gull L. canus), and the legs and bill bright yellow, the latter also having a larger and brighter red bill spot.
In close views the orbital-ring is red (yellow/orange in Herring Gull), though this can be difficult to detect.
In early winter, Yellow-legged Gull is noticeably white headed, when Herring Gull is heavily streaked, and the legs may fade to pale yellow.   In flight there is more black, and therefore less white, on the wing-tip, with grey on the underwing across the secondaries and inner primaries (white in Herring Gull and darker grey in Lesser Black-backed Gull L. fuscus).

The obvious pitfalls are:

1. Make sure a suspected bird is not an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull (yellow legs and red orbital-ring), the British-breeding race of which has dark grey upperparts only slightly paler than the black wing-tip.

2. Herring Gulls can sometimes look decidedly dark in some (especially dull) lights.

3. Herring Gulls of the nominate race L. a. argentatus are larger than the British - breeding race and have darker grey mantles, though perhaps not quite as dark as Yellow-legged Gull.
   They can be further distinguished by their reduced amounts of black in the wing-tip; the legs are pink.
   This race has recently been recorded in the Doncaster district, at Broomhill Ings: one in November 1989, and singles on five dates 4th November to 3rd December 1990.

Yellow-legged Gulls are occurring with increased frequency in Britain. Though racial separation is often not possible, even with dead specimens (Y.N.U. Ornith. Rep. for 1988: 3), it is suspected that those seen in late summer/autumn, the main period of occurrence, are mostly of the race L. c. michahellis, but those seen in winter may, confusingly, be rare yellow legged variants of Herring Gull sensu stricto.

Taking it further

Discussions on the taxonomic complexity of ‘Herring Gulls’ may be found in Grant (1982 and later editions) and Cramp and Simmons (1983).
British Birds, Birding World and Dutch Birding all devote space to sharpening the debate.   The identification points of Yellow-legged Gull are well covered by Harris et al. (1989).

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