Back to
Miscellaneous gulls
homepage

Larus argentatus argentatus

Above: Adult (Essex, 19 December 2009)

In some poses, this individual looks somewhat Caspian-like with long skinny legs, dark mantle, darkish eye and overall slim build. However, it's not quite right and the wing pattern (with significant black markings reaching only to P6 on both wings) among other things (such as bill shape and colouration) confirms that this is most likely a darkish-eyed and unusually slim 'Scandinavian' Herring Gull (L. a. argentatus).