Juvenile gull from Camargue, France (1 Viewer)

[MaxesTaxes]

I saw this juvenile gull in the Camargue, France, on the 5th of August this year. The bill seems too long and slender to me for Larus or Med gull, but the plumage doesn't seem to fit black-headed or slender-billed gull. So I must be wrong in one of my assumptions... What do you guys think this is?
Thanks in advance,
Max

 

[Butty]

Wing-pattern (and thus identity) is either black-headed gull or slender-billed gull, juv/1st-winter. I don't see anything particularly wrong with the body plumage. The photos have a very strong colour cast.

 

[MaxesTaxes]

Wing-pattern (and thus identity) is either black-headed gull or slender-billed gull, juv/1st-winter. I don't see anything particularly wrong with the body plumage. The photos have a very strong colour cast.

Comparing to photos online, it seems like my bird is a lot darker overall than slender-billed gull juveniles. But it may be black-headed, seems like they sometimes do get quite dark as juveniles (the immature ones I have seen in the UK have all been much whiter, but Google Images does seem to show that darker juveniles exist).
I'll put it down as BH gull then, thanks Butty!

 

[Butty]

That's purely down to the photo (no offence), not the bird: exposure, colour cast, whatever.

 

[MaxesTaxes]

That's purely down to the photo (no offence), not the bird: exposure, colour cast, whatever.

No sorry, I saw the birds in person and they really were dark. I'm not sure why you think the photos are so heavily color cast, they look pretty similar to what I saw with my own eyes. I agree the quality and lighting aren't great, but the colors are rather accurate.
Here's a slightly better photo (that I only noticed after uploading this topic); again not great but the light is coming from a different angle and you can tell that the coloration of the birds is still the same.

EDIT: also, looking at this photo you can see the line at the back of the 'black head' starting to form more clearly. So you were right with black-headed gull

 

[THE_FERN]

No sorry, I saw the birds in person and they really were dark. I'm not sure why you think the photos are so heavily color cast, they look pretty similar to what I saw with my own eyes. I agree the quality and lighting aren't great, but the colors are rather accurate.
Here's a slightly better photo (that I only noticed after uploading this topic); again not great but the light is coming from a different angle and you can tell that the coloration of the birds is still the same.

EDIT: also, looking at this photo you can see the line at the back of the 'black head' starting to form more clearly. So you were right with black-headed gull

Bird behind looks slender billed (white eye)

... As does the bird in flight and one or 2 others in earlier photos. I note the elongated head shape here.

 

[Butty]

the colors are rather accurate

Sorry, but the strong blue colour-cast isn't in doubt - it's in all the photos posted in this thread and in each case affects the whole image, not just the birds. The photos are all taken in the open and in direct sunlight, thus there is nothing in the birds' environment to have caused this. So whether it's a fault in your camera or some result of processing, in-camera or later, I couldn't say.

the line at the back of the 'black head' starting to form more clearly

No part of the brown hood of breeding plumage (if they are black-headed gull) will appear until sometime between 6 months and 1½ years from now.

 

[smiths]

Bird behind looks slender billed (white eye)

... As does the bird in flight and one or 2 others in earlier photos. I note the elongated head shape here.

There are no Slender-billed Gulls in any of the photos, in my opinion...

 

[THE_FERN]

There are no Slender-billed Gulls in any of the photos, in my opinion...

Perhaps you're right. I find the head shape odd for black-headed. What I took to be a white eye is actually a closed eye ! [last photo]

 

[Edwin Sapatsch]

No sorry, I saw the birds in person and they really were dark. I'm not sure why you think the photos are so heavily color cast, they look pretty similar to what I saw with my own eyes. I agree the quality and lighting aren't great, but the colors are rather accurate.
Here's a slightly better photo (that I only noticed after uploading this topic); again not great but the light is coming from a different angle and you can tell that the coloration of the birds is still the same.

EDIT: also, looking at this photo you can see the line at the back of the 'black head' starting to form more clearly. So you were right with black-headed gull

As far as colour cast goes I have to agree with "Butty" I find a strong 'Blue' cast in all the images whuch affects the real colours.

I have given one a slight balance and a more natural brown in the birds becomes more apparent in my opinion (Just an opinion) Hope this helps