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Thayer's Gull? Navy Pier, Chicago, IL (1 Viewer)

esrpiano

Member
Saw these two gulls (1st and 2nd pictures are one, 3rd picture is the other) this morning sitting on a rock at Navy Pier in downtown Chicago. I THINK these may be Thayer's Gulls (adult breeding) and NOT Herring or Iceland because:

-dark pink legs (too dark for Herring breeding adult)
-the primary tips appear too dark for Iceland breeding adult
-I know Thayer's gulls usually have dark eyes but my field guide says that some can be quite pale-eyed

Thoughts? Maybe I'm just trying to convince myself they are not Herring gulls! :) Sorry that the pictures aren't super clear (shots were taken from far away) and didn't get side views.

Thanks in advance!
Emily
 

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sorry to say but these are herring gulls alone on structure alone. bill shape, bulkiness, leg colour is not raspberry but dull greyish on my screen, just the feet are rosy coloured. and you'd need an open wing shot to be on the safe side anyway. but these definitely look like american herring gulls.
 
You might be interested that the American Ornithologists Society now considers Thayer's Gull to be a part of Iceland Gull and not a separate species.
 
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