An excellent shot Pavel...a great looking bird! Certainly one to look out for.👍Hello, very pale common gull from yesterday, with amazingly orange bill and very pale iris, need your help please.
Durankulak beach, NE Bulgaria. Thanks for your comments!
Hi Lou/Alexmost probably a ssp. heinei, pavel. this winter thousends of them have showed up on western black sea coast. i fear there is not enough details to really clinch the ssp. but pale iris and bright bill plus what seems to be a p9 mirror as 'short' as black tip suggests this taxon.
Hello, thanks for all comments.Hello Pavel,
As you know, such a pale Iris and orange or mustard yellow bill and legs are features of ssp heinei to the DB article. Your bird has extensive streaking to the head, while the authors show birds with pure white heads. White mirror on p9 is also quite small for a ssp. canus.
Do you have pictures of the upperwing?
Lou said in another thread, that many heinei wintered in the eastern Mediterranean this winter. And I hope for smiths and Lou and others to jump in, if such an extensive streaking is ok for ssp heinei and an expert opinion about this bird
well now. it's most certainly a heinei - adding black on p8 reaching primary coverts and no pale tongue tips to p6-7