The Vega Gull (Larus vegae) is a medium to large sized larid species that was recently split into its own species from the Herring Gull complex in 2025 (Clements et al. 2024, Chesser et al. 2025). This species breeds across northeastern Siberia from western Taimyr region to the Chukotka Peninsula and as far south as the northern boundary of Kamchatka in Russia and on St. Lawrence Island in Alaska (Olsen and Larsson 2004, Ayyash 2024, Weseloh et al. 2024, Chesser et al. 2025). The Vega Gull winters from Siberian from the northwestern Pacific region south mainly to Japan and Korea, but also further south along the Chinese coast as far as Hong Kong, with scattered records as far south as southeastern China (Hainan) and the northern Philippines with a possible record from Vietnam (Ayyash 2024, Chesser et al. 2025).  The westernmost breeding populations probably winter mainly in Japan; some probably move post-breeding to the northern Alaskan coast (Olsen and Larsson 2004, Ayyash 2024). It is regular in spring and autumn throughout the Bering Sea region of Alaska and on the western Aleutian Islands (Gibson and Byrd 2007, Ayyash 2024, Weseloh et al. 2024).  This species is an accidental vagrant in western Europe (Chesser et al. 2025)

 

The Vega Gull is a vagrant in eastern North America with a few scattered records from Minnesota, Michigan, Ontario, New York, Massachusetts, south to Florida and Texas (Chesser et al. 2025, e-bird database 2026). 

 

South of Alaska there are scattered records from British Columbia, Washington, Oregon south to California (ebird database 2026). The complexity of identification makes records south of Alaska currently very few but likely will increase as our knowledge of this species increases. All records away from Alaska should be scrutinized now that Vega Gull is a separate species.

The following description of Vega Gull and how to differentiate it from the American Herring Gull (Larus smithsonianus) is taken from Olsen and Larsson (2004), Ayyash (2024), and Weseloh et al. (2024).

 

The Vega Gull is a large, four-year gull measuring 55–67 cm; males weigh 1318–1368 grams, and females weigh 1083–1158 grams; with a wingspan 125–155 cm. Males are distinctly larger than females, with noticeably larger bills. In breeding plumage, the head, neck, body, and tail are white; the back and wings are light gray, the wing-tips are black with white spots (‘mirrors’). The bill is yellow or light orange with a subterminal red spot; the iris is golden with a orange-red orbital ring; the legs are pink but can also be yellow. In nonbreeding plumage, the head and neck are variably (sometimes extensively) streaked grayish-brown and the bare parts are duller in coloration. On adults, the legs and feet are pale to medium-dark pink, brightening or darkening slightly in March–June. The legs and feet quickly become adult-like during the first cycle.

  

Juvenile (First Basic) Plumage

Present primarily in October–January. Overall, the head and underparts are streaked gray-brown with paler face and nape, darker auriculars, and a blackish eye-crescent. The feathers of the crown, mantle, and scapulars are variably pale grayish to dark brown with pale edgings, forming a scaly pattern; the rump is usually paler (sometimes whitish) and streaked gray-brown with the same general tone as the mantle and tail, but usually contrasting slightly; the uppertail coverts are whitish with coarse darker bars. The rectrices are white at the bases with dark bars and markings (extending more distally ion the outer web of r6) and a medium-narrow blackish-brown subterminal. The upperwing secondary and primary coverts are the same color as the mantle and scapulars but more barred, less scaly, sometimes paler with well-marked dark patterning; the tertials are blackish brown with distinct pale borders, pale notches at the sides, and a pale subterminal bar; the other secondaries are primarily blackish-brown, forming a dark secondary bar, and are thinly tipped pale when fresh; the primaries and outer wing are blackish brown, the inner 4–6 primaries are slightly paler with dark subterminal marks, forming a pale panel which is fairly prominent from above and below. The underparts are medium to dark brown with variable sparse pale streaking, sometimes appearing paler with dark checkering; the undertail coverts are often paler with distinct, dark transverse bars; the underwing coverts are rather uniform pale gray-brown.

 

Juveniles are variable but typically uniformly brownish. First-winter birds are similar but become slightly paler, being dull gray-brown, with fine light-brown markings on the back and wing coverts, dark brown primaries and tail-tip; the bill is black, developing a pale base in late autumn, and the legs are dull pink. Birds in their second and third calendar years become progressively lighter, with some gray on the mantle and white on the breast in the second winter. Definitive plumage is usually attained by the fourth plumage cycle, but some birds at that age still retain some dark brown in the upper wing and tail. All age stages show considerable individual variation.

 

Formative/First Alternate Plumage

 

Present primarily November (when fresh) to July (when worn). This or these plumages are highly variable due to variation in the timing and extent of molt, effects of molt timing on feather-pattern expression, and variable effects of bleaching. It is similar to Juvenile Plumage except for varying amounts of scattered new feathers on the head, back, and underparts, the replaced mantle feathers varying from mostly dark with pale fringes to mostly or entirely pale gray with central shaft streaks. The plumage, especially on the head, becomes whiter with bleaching through spring and summer. Retained Juvenile body feathers are often bleached and contrast with replaced First Alternate feathers. Retained juvenile flight feathers, especially outer primaries and rectrices, can become very worn by summer, sometimes bleached white with protruding shafts. First Alternate Plumage can be similar to Second Alternate Plumage but is generally more worn, especially on retained flight feathers; replaced feathers mottled as opposed to gray; outer primaries and rectrices are thinner at the tips and bleached and abraded by spring.

 

Second Basic and Second Alternate Plumages (and later cycles) are described concurrently due to highly variable timing of molts and lengthy transitional appearances during protracted prealternate molts. These plumages are present primarily from September (when fresh) to August (when worn). They are similar to Formative/First Alternate Plumage, but average paler and often have less distinct pale and dark markings on the feathers of the upperparts. The head is whitish with extensive dusky streaking on the crown, nape, and auriculars in fall, becoming whiter by spring through molt and bleaching. Feathers of the mantle and scapulars are similar to juvenile feathering but often have extensive diffuse gray coloration, the feathers replaced in November–April becoming increasingly clear gray (as definitive feathers) or with dark shaft streaks or indistinct dark markings. The rump and uppertail coverts are white with variable amounts of fine dark barring. The rectrices are largely dark (often blacker than juvenile rectrices) with pale fringes and/or baring to the outer rectrices (r6). The upperwing secondary coverts are variably brown to pale gray with indistinct brown barring, paler and a less distinctly patterned (less neatly scaled) than juvenile coverts; the greater coverts can be dark gray and vermiculated or finely barred pale. The tertials resemble those of Juvenile Plumage or can have more extensive white internal markings. Some upperwing coverts and sometimes tertials are replaced from October onward with more definitive-like gray feathers. The primaries, primary coverts, and secondaries are as in the Juvenile Plumage, except that the outer 5 secondaries (s1–s5) are medium gray and the inner 5 primaries (p1–p5) and their primary coverts are variably much paler grayish with subterminal bands and whitish tips, forming a pale wing panel that contrasts with the darker outer primaries; the outermost primary (p10) rarely has a diffuse pale patch (‘mirror’). In American Herring Gull, rarely up to 5 inner primaries and the rectrices may be replaced and resemble definitive feathers and it appears that some Vega Gulls can replace these and rectrices as well. The underparts are whitish with variable brown mottling, becoming whiter by spring through bleaching and molt; the underwing coverts are variably mottled white and brown. These plumages can be similar to Formative/First Alternate Plumage, but are generally fresher and paler gray, with the outer primaries broader and blacker and the inner primaries paler, grayer, and tipped white. They can also be similar to and may overlap those of the third cycle.

Third Basic and Alternate Plumages

Present primarily September (when fresh) to August (when worn). These plumages are intermediate, to variable extents, between the Second and Definitive Basic and Alternate Plumages. They can resemble second-cycle plumages except that the head and underparts are generally whiter with sparser streaking, the upperparts generally have more definitive-like pale gray feathers, and the inner primaries average more definitive-like, gray with white tips. Alternatively, they can resemble definitive-cycle plumages but have heavier dark mottling on the head in fall, at least some rectrices with subterminal black bands or markings, and there is more black or dusky on the distal upperwing primary coverts and alula. In most individuals, the head and body are white with extensive dusky streaking in fall, especially around the eye, on the crown, nape, and hindneck, and sparsely on the breast, sides, and flanks, becoming white by spring through molt and bleaching. The mantle and scapulars are uniform pale gray as in the Definitive Alternate Plumage or have sparse dark streaks or markings. The rump and uppertail coverts are white and the tail is white with subterminal, barred, or freckled markings of highly variable extent and pattern, often confined to the feather centers. The upperwing coverts are pale gray with variable amounts of brown markings on the inner secondary coverts; the primary coverts and alula are variably tipped blackish, often extensively dusky with pale tips; the tertials vary but generally intermediate between those of the second-cycle and definitive-cycle plumages. The secondaries and primaries often resemble those of the definitive cycle but with a variable brown wash to some secondaries and inner primaries (ranging from absent to heavy), and with more extensive blackish on the outer primaries; p9 (sometimes) and p10 (usually) have white ‘mirrors’ that are smaller than in the Definitive Basic and Alternate Plumages. The underwing coverts are white, often with sparse brown mottling. Some individuals in Fourth Basic and Alternate Plumages may show some of these characters, especially dusky marks on the primary coverts and more blackish and smaller white ‘mirrors’ on the outer primaries.

 

Definitive Basic and Alternate Plumages

Present primarily October (when fresh) to August (when worn). The head, rump, and underparts are white, the head with variable, diffuse dusky streaks in fall (Definitive Basic Plumage) that become pure white by mid-winter (Definitive Alternate Plumage). The mantle and upperwing coverts are uniformly gray (darker than in other Herring Gull taxa), the longest scapulars tipped white (forming a narrow subscapular crescent). The upperwing coverts and tertials are uniformly pale gray with broad white tips to the tertials; the remaining secondaries and inner 3–4 primaries are gray with white tips. The outer primaries from p4 to p10 have pale gray bases and black subterminal markings, more extensive on the outer web; p4 has little or no black; p5–p8 have black bars or extensive black subterminal portions bracketed by narrow white tongue crescents and tips; p9–p10 are extensively tipped black, with a large and distinct white tip (‘mirror’) on the outer portion of p10 and usually a smaller ‘mirror’ on p9. The underwing coverts are white.

 

The adult Vega Gull is similar in appearance to the American Herring Gull (Larus smithsonianus), but the mantle is medium gray, the orbital ring is orange-red and the legs and feet are often yellow in the western part of its range. First-cycle birds are also similar in appearance to the American Herring Gull, but the base of the outer rectrices have extensive pale marks and the ventrum tends toward the pattern of first cycle European Herring Gull (Larus argentatus).

 

The Vega Gull has less black on wingtips than the Mongolian Gull (Larus mongolicus), with black on outer 5–7 primaries (6–9 in Mongolian Gull), even darker upperparts and has mainly white head in winter, with faint brown streaks on hindneck (much more than in Mongolian Gull, but still less than in American Herring Gull).

 

When encountering a suspected Vega Gull anywhere in British Columbia it is critical to get photographs and video of the bird from every angle and with other similar species for comparison. Spread wing and tail images are also extremely useful.

 

With the recent split of Vega Gull from the Herring Gull complex this species now a new addition to the avifauna of British Columbia (Toochin and Cecile 2025). The status of Vega Gull in the Province is not well documented or currently understood and needs more study by keen observers.  Currently the Vega Gull has the status of an accidental winter vagrant anywhere in the province. Records so far have been found in proximity to landfills or at the spring Herring Spawn on Vancouver Island. Given the difficulty in separating this species from the myriads of hybrid gulls found in British Columbia records have been few to date. This species could occur in numbers similar to that of Slaty-backed Gull () or even possibly Glaucous Gull () in the province. As more people search and document Vega Gull, overtime a better picture will emerge of how rare this species is in British Columbia. This species is mostly to be found where there are huge concentrations of gulls and should be well photographed if thought to be encountered. 

1.(1) 1st cycle December 26, 2002-January 26, 2003: Rick Toochin, mobs (photo) Burns Drive, Delta (R. Toochin Per. Comm.)

2.(1) adult March 19, 2007: Guy Monty Little Qualicum Estuary (photo) (ebird checklist S4204139)

3.(1) adult winter plumage December 26, 2007: Rick Toochin, Louis Haviland (photo) San Juan Estuary, Port Renfrew (R. Toochin Pers. Comm.)

4.(1) adult winter plumage February 27, 2010: Mike Ashbee (photo) Qualicum Beach (M. Ashbee Pers. Comm.)

5.(1) 1st cycle November 2, 2021: Liam Singh (photo) French Creek (ebird checklist S154948788)

 

A huge thanks to Michael Ashbee for sharing his photos of an adult Vega Gull from Qualicum Beach. The photographs are used here with permission from the photographer and is protected by copyright law. They are no to be reproduced, retransmitted or republished without the written permission of the photographer. Special thanks to Macaulay Library for being open source and allowing free sharing of photos for non-commercial purposes, and to all birders and eBird users for their hard work out in the field finding birds and documenting them for fun and for science.

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