How to Identify a Heinei Common (Mew) Gull.......hopefully!! (1 Viewer)

Hi

Ok I'm a glutton for punishment!

I've been spending a bit of time searching through all the local Common, Black-heads, Herring Gulls etc hoping to find that elusive Ring-billed, Boneparte's, Caspian, American Herring.......or something!! Obviously I have not found any of these (Yet!). But whilst looking through the good numbers of Common (Mew) Gulls I have noticed the odd one appearing distinctly larger, darker mantled and with much heavier dark streaking on the head (sometimes also onto the breast).

Now I am aware that the nominate race of Common (Mew) Gull (canus) gradually becomes darker and bigger the further East it goes and eventually grades into the 'Eastern Race' heinei. So my question is as follows.

Can any members give me any pointers on how to identify Common (Mew) Gull to the 'Eastern Form' heinei?

I hope someone can help me with this!

Regards
Tristan

Hi Tris

they do occur in the Baltic annuallyand Gulls by Peter grant states prob. Britain too. As far as the answer to your question goes.....they are darker mantled and bigger! though this is clinal so it will be extremely difficult, prob. impossible to apply anything other than a 'showing signs of' epithet to any bird. Other than that I'm not aware of anything enabling id.

Hi Tristan,
I think that there are British records of heinei which have been proven by the birds being trapped.
As far as ID goes,I've little to add to what has been said,except that I think that they tend to have a longer primary projection.
Reminds me of a bird that a few of us had in Cork city 5 years ago or so:it was almost as dark above as a typical graellsii LBB,with a very long primary projection and lots of head streaking.We never did anything with the description....
One to revisit,I think!
Harry H

I quite often puzzle over the question of 'heinei' as if you spend time looking at Common Gulls you regularly see ones that stand out from the norm. Big ones, dark-backed ones, heavily-streaked ones, and ones that have bills almost big enough for Ring-billed Gull. There seems to be a lot more variation than described in books. I saw a first-summer at Rutland Water in 2002 that could have been a Common x Ring-billed hybrid.

There is a good gulls website that features races of Common Gull - www.martinreid.com/index.html

Steve

Hi Harry, Tim & Steve

Thanks for your help on this query. I assumed (as with most things 'gulls') that nothing would be clean cut here. Still, quite interesting all the same.

I assume brachyrhynchus has not yet occured in the UK (I cannot find any reference to it in my literature). From what I gather this form (recently split?) is somewhat easier to seperate from canus, though I'm not to sure how close it is to kamtschatschensis.

Regards
Tristan

Hi Tristan,

Tristan R said:

I assume brachyrhynchus has not yet occured in the UK (I cannot find any reference to it in my literature).

Click to expand...

Nope, it hasn't

Tristan R said:

From what I gather this form (recently split?).

Click to expand...

Mew Gull is split from Common Gull by some, but not (yet) by most

Michael

The unmoulted common that I discussed in a thread started in june was structurally different to nominate common. My notes comment on longer primaries and a more robust bill. I also recorded a paler mantle to canus (in certain light) In direct comparrison it was also slightly larger to canus. Behaviourly it was also striking, patrolling the resevoirs (where it was seen) like a skua spp. Chasing other gulls to make them give up food. Including landing on the back of an adult common. A. McGeehan in Birdwatch magazine described using this type of behaviour which I recall him describing as garrulousness as a way of picking up ring-billed gulls amongst flocks of roosting/feeding gulls. Perhaps its not just plumage that intergrades but behaviour also. It is interesting to speculate as to how a common (no pun intended) ancestor gave rise to such a subtle but obvious variation in bill size, iris colour, juvenile plumage variation, mantle colouration,behavioural differences etc. so that you end up with canus,heinei,kamchatka, delewarensis, american mew and assorted other integrades there of
For those who havent guessed yet I l like gulls.