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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

western France two immature gulls YLG and or Herring ? 06/08/20 (1 Viewer)

Hello everyone
your help pls

is the bird in the foreground a 1cy YLG ?
and are the two in the background 2cy Herring gulls (L. michahellis)

if i reading my P.J. Grant: "Gulls, a guide to identification" correctly the foreground bird's greater coverts lacks the "piano-key' pattern"

these were seen on the estuary of the Vilaine last week
YLG are much less frequent thanHerring gulls though the were adult YLG in the group - red eye ring ....

thanks in advance


for info it was a mixed flock Herring Gull (argenteus) and Lesser Black-backed Gull (graellsii). and at least one 1cy GBB (L. marinus)
 

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Hello everyone
your help pls

is the bird in the foreground a 1cy YLG ?
and are the two in the background 2cy Herring gulls (L. michahellis)

if i reading my P.J. Grant: "Gulls, a guide to identification" correctly the foreground bird's greater coverts lacks the "piano-key' pattern"

these were seen on the estuary of the Vilaine last week
YLG are much less frequent thanHerring gulls though the were adult YLG in the group - red eye ring ....

thanks in advance


for info it was a mixed flock Herring Gull (argenteus) and Lesser Black-backed Gull (graellsii). and at least one 1cy GBB (L. marinus)

It's worth bearing in mind that the PJ Grant book is now out of date in terms of how we classify some gulls. Herring Gull is now separated from Yellow-legged, so they are L argentatus and L michahellis respectively.

The race of Herring Gull that is most often seen in the more southern latitudes of Western Europe is L argentatus argenteus, with the northern race Larus argentatus argentatus becoming more common here in winter.

Your birds all look like Herring Gulls to me: 1cy (juvenile) front left, 2cy on the right and probably a 3cy to the rear.

The subject bird has shortish wing projection, irregular pale edges to the tertials and scapulars (leaving an 'oak leaf' dark centre to many of the latter) and a fairly slender bill. All of which look better to me for Herring Gull. The greater covert pattern also looks fine to me, though many YLG have a similar pattern.
 
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Juv/immature gull are really not my favourits, but the left hand birds is very dark overall and has a fairly slender bill. Looks like a juvi Lesser Black-backed to me...
 
Thanks to you both

@Steve

I will update my library :)

@Carery

not my favorites either :)


there was also a "more" easily identifiable immature GBB


thanks again

BM
 

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