ML95422521

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Media notes

Dark tail and pattern on closed wingtips.

Observation details

Bizarre bird; thanks to Skye Haas for assistance with ID. Due to structure and gestalt this bird immediately struck me as an Iceland Gull, and extended observations of closed and spread wings later solidified this impression. At the time of observation I was completely unsure of which subspecies it was, but leaning toward calling it Kumlien's or simply unidentifiable. However, it is apparently a 2nd-cycle Thayer's with wing coverts, unreplaced scapulars, and much of the underparts heavily bleached. This bird had about the same body size as the Herring Gulls around it yet appeared more petite due to the slim bill and rounded top of the head. The new adult scapulars appeared to be the same shade as and occasionally slightly darker than on surrounding Herring Gulls. The folded wingtips were a dark brownish-gray with very noticeable (but not broad) white borders: about the pattern I'd expect to see on a first-cycle Thayer's wingtip, but grayer. The tertials, wing coverts, and old scapulars were so bleached that it was impossible to decide their color in relation to the primaries. The spread wings showed dark brownish-gray outer webs and pale inner webs on 6 outer primaries, creating a strong Venetian blind effect. There was a strongly contrasting dark secondary bar, shown in photos. The inner primaries were almost entirely white. The breast and neck had some scattered small patches of medium brown feathers, but were mostly white; the back of the neck retained a more significant amount of mottling. The tail was a solid brownish-gray paling abruptly to light brown or white at the base. The thin bill had black at the tip and extending toward the base on the upper mandible; the rest of the bill was grayish pink. The legs were a dull pink.

Technical information

Model

Canon PowerShot SX50 HS

ISO

100

Focal length

215 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/6.5

Shutter speed

1/1000 sec

Dimensions

742 pixels x 556 pixels

Original file size

120.89 KB