martyrynin
Guest
Saw this gull yesterday evening - Belfast, Ireland.
Definitely a Herring, particularly with no black on p5, however I still found the primaries to be unusual on a few points.
I have included what I consider a fairly typical Argenteus (dark blue water background) for comparison.
I also found the bill markings to be unusual, with a dark spot on the upper mandible on what appears to be an adult.
Is this possibly Argentatus, or does it fall within range for local Argenteus? Have you seen similar Herring gulls?
Definitely a Herring, particularly with no black on p5, however I still found the primaries to be unusual on a few points.
- All white tip to p10
- Reduced amount of black in p10 (both upper and underwing). In Argenteus nearly the whole feather looks black typically.
- Tounges on p8+p7 on the upperwing look the same length and are blocky, which differs from the usual Argenteus pattern of p8 being clearly shorter than p7 and having a more rounded appearance.
I have included what I consider a fairly typical Argenteus (dark blue water background) for comparison.
I also found the bill markings to be unusual, with a dark spot on the upper mandible on what appears to be an adult.
Is this possibly Argentatus, or does it fall within range for local Argenteus? Have you seen similar Herring gulls?
