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Gull (NE Italy) (1 Viewer)

Hippolais

Luca Boscain
Bird photographed today in Chioggia (NE Italy): 1st winter? YL or Herring Gull??
 

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I would say a first-winter YLG from these photos:

The 2nd gen feathers are rather dark centered, the bill is pink based, the tertials are dark with narrow white fringing, the primary projection is long, the 1st gen greater coverts are mainly brown and not checkerboard like many first-winter HGs, and it has 2nd gen feathers in the coverts and tertials. 2nd gen feathers in the coverts and tertials are rare in first-winter HGs at this time of year.

The relatively dark head and body is strange for a YLG but still within species variation.
 
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this is indeed a 1st winter YLG but stongly resembling a 2nd winter herring gull (which i initially thought it was). the fact that it has 1st gen. tertials and part of the greater coverts makes it a 1st cycle though and as such, with all the replaced coverts, has to be michahellis. note that such a strongly bicoloured bill is not at all common in 1st winter YLG, more so in HG or caspians. also pattern of replaced scaps and coverts is somewhat messy - like in 2nd winter HGs.
 
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