Franklin's Gull
Leucophaeus pipixcan
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderCharadriiformes (Caradriformes)
- FamilyLaridae (Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers)
- GenusLeucophaeus (Hooded Gulls)
- SpeciesLeucophaeus pipixcan (Franklin's Gull)
Franklin's gull (Leucophaeus pipixcan) is a small (length 12.6–14.2 in, 32–36 cm) gull. The genus name Leucophaeus is from Ancient Greek leukos, "white", and phaios, "dusky". The specific pipixcan is a Nahuatl name for a type of gull. The English common name was given to commemorate the arctic explorer Sir John Franklin, who led an expedition in 1825 on which the type was collected. Wikipedia →
<5% of wildlife watchers report a Franklin's Gull sighting in Yellowstone National Park, based on 38 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
Closest Relatives at Yellowstone National Park
California Gull
Larus californicus
Ring-billed Gull
Larus delawarensis
Caspian Tern
Hydroprogne caspia
Forster's Tern
Sterna forsteri
Bonaparte's Gull
Chroicocephalus philadelphia
Sabine's Gull
Xema sabini
American Herring Gull
Larus smithsonianus
Killdeer
Charadrius vociferus
Spotted Sandpiper
Actitis macularius
Wilson's Snipe
Gallinago delicata
American Avocet
Recurvirostra americana
Wilson's Phalarope
Phalaropus tricolor
📅 Monthly Probability
☀️ When They're Spotted
Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Franklin's Gull in Yellowstone National Park?
About 1% of wildlife watchers report a Franklin's Gull sighting in Yellowstone National Park, based on 38 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Franklin's Gull in Yellowstone National Park?
September has the highest sighting rate for Franklin's Gull in Yellowstone National Park in our monthly data.