Différencier les Goélands d’Arménie et leucophée

The Armenian Gull Larus armenicus is called so because it has its main breeding distribution in Armenia over the last decades. It is poorly known on its breeding grounds, although they are easily accessible. Its field identification is surrounded by conflicting information, its phylogenetic affinities are unknown and its taxonomic status as a distinct species is poorly supported by published information. The taxon was first described as a subspecies of Larus taymirensis, then classified as a subspecies of Larus argentatus and finally ranked as a full species, although BirdLife International lumps it with the Yellow-legged Gull Larus michahellis.
We present your the key ID features allowing to distinguish the Yellow-legged and the Armenia Gulls, if taken in combination.
This article is partly based on the first part of the « Field identification guide to large gulls in Israel » created par Amir Ben Dov and Yoav Perlman.