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Index of Subjects I'm a little late weighing in on the gull at Cherry Hill Beach. Ring-bills are uncommon on this beach, but yesterday there was one there, very similar to yours in the photo. Nearby there was also a Laughing Gull, probably in second winter plumage. Sylvia Fullerton Broad Cove, Lun. Co. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Sydney Penner" <sfp@sydneypenner.ca> To: <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca> Sent: Friday, July 30, 2010 10:28 AM Subject: [NatureNS] gull ID > Hi all, > > I dropped in at Cherry Hill today and found a gull that puzzles me. The > puzzlement may just have been created by limited visibility (there was > wind, rain, and mist) and by confusion on my part. Still, I'm wondering if > someone might be willing to look at a few pictures (of rather low quality) > and let me know what they think. > > Here are two pictures that allow for a size comparison with a Herring Gull > at about the same distance: > http://picasaweb.google.com/sepenner2/CherryHillGull#5499491907295283410 > http://picasaweb.google.com/sepenner2/CherryHillGull#5499491902228246114 > > Here are two pictures from a bit closer: > http://picasaweb.google.com/sepenner2/CherryHillGull#5499491912860227154 > http://picasaweb.google.com/sepenner2/CherryHillGull#5499491906756103170 > > Some salient points: > > 1) The gull was quite a lot smaller than the numerous Herring Gulls in the > area. I know that there is some variation in Herring Gull sizes, but this > gull struck me as too small to be a Herring Gull. But maybe there is even > more variation than I think. > > 2) My next thought was that it was a Ring-billed Gull. But Ring-billed > Gulls were the common gull in New York where I lived for the last five > years, and I convinced myself that this bird just didn't quite look right > to be a Ring-billed Gull. That said, I definitely still think that > Ring-billed is a possibility. > > 3) One reason I doubted Ring-billed is the head shape: it looks more > rounded to me than what I would have expected. But here it would have been > really handy to have a few Ring-billed Gulls sitting around for comparison > purposes. > > 4) I kept trying to figure out what the colour of its legs was, but the > low visibility left me unsure. Generally, the legs didn't look yellow to > me, but one could definitely imagine yellow legs with the last of the > photos linked to above. > > 5) The eyes consistently looked dark to me, but, given the visibility, I'm > not sure how much I would stake on that. > > 6) One additional piece of information not evident from the photos: the > upper side of the tail was entirely white. > > A couple of the features I mentioned (head shape, eye colour) might > suggest Mew Gull. But (a) Mew Gull doesn't seem very likely around here > and (b) not all its features match Mew Gull well (e.g., I would have > expected more obvious white crescents on its wings if it were a Mew Gull). > I also don't have any experience with Mew Gulls, making such a judgement > trickier. > > Anyway, if someone can tell me more about this gull, I would be grateful. > > Best wishes, > Sydney > > > Sydney Penner > 114 Willow Ave. > Berwick, N.S. B0P 1E0 > sfp@cornell.edu > >
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