Glaucous-winged Gull, juvenile: Lake Merrit, Oakland, California, USA - 13th November 2009
This bird is still in juvenile plumage, aged by the retained juvenile Scapulars. These are of mixed pattern; the uppers are largely pale brown centred with fine pale fringes whilst the lowers are generally pale with browner internal anchor markings. The bird is overall a uniform pale sandy-brown colouration.
- The lesser coverts are pale with browner distal end with paler fringes
- The median coverts are pale creamy-buff with brown 'anchors' with paler whitish fringes creating a slightly scaled appearance.
- The outer Greater coverts are plainer, less well marked and more uniform than the inners thus creating a a more solid wedge on the outer wing.
- The tertials are plain sandy-buff with pale tips and only slight notching
- The primaries are pale sandy-buff and match the colour and tone of the tertials and the exposed secondaries, which have whitish tips and narrow fringing.
- The primaries also extend only a short way beyond the tertials thus creating a blunt ended appearance to the bird which is enhanced by the obvious tertial step. The primaries are also pale tipped.
- The bill is deep based, sturdy looking with prominent Gonys Expansion and blunt tip and is all dark.
- The head is rather square, lacking the more sloping forehead of American Herring Gull. The ear coverts are rather darker than rest of the body plumage.
- Legs are relatively dull pink, most however are rather brighter Bubble Gum pink.
The image below is of the same bird but with a slightly different angle. See how the the change in light has made the primaries look a little darker, darker than the tertials, whilst the upper-parts now look paler.
The bill still looks a thickset as before and all dark and the eye looks large.
Glaucous-winged Gull - Larus glaycescens
Juveniles
Glaucous-winged Gull, juvenile: Roberts Lake, Monterey, California, USA - 24th November 2009
A rather smaller bird than the one above at Lake Merrit. Here the head is smaller, more rounded and smoother looking in plumages whilst the overall size of the bird was suggestive of it being a female.
As in the previous bird the plumage is pretty uniformly pale sandy-brown however there are aspects to this bird that differ from the previous individual:
- Scapulars are still mostly juvenile, dark centred with darker brown anchors and pale sandy tips screating a scaled appearance however note the newer grey feather begining to emerge.
- The Lesser coverts are brown centred and pale tipped, a pattern that is largely echoed by the median coverts however the inner medians show more significant barring.
- The greater coverts are mostly plain with pale tips however like the median coverts the inners are quite well patterned.
- The tertials are plain brown with pale tips a limited notching also at the tips.
- The primaries are short, pale brown with paler tips and fringes and only just project beyond the tail tip.
- Tail is all brown, no obvious pale sides or outer feather markings however the distal end of the rectrices are pale fringed.
- the legs a fairly bright pink but rather short and thickset.
- The bill is thickset with a blunt tip and obvious Gonys expansion though for a bird of this age the already slightly pale base is unusual.
- The head is small, rounded, relatively plain which along with the dark almost beady looking eye has a rather vacant expression.
- The under-parts are rather uniform smooth pale sandy-brown with a little blotching on the neck and breast sides
- The under-tail coverts are rather well barred.
Overall impression is of a pretty uniform pale sandy-brown short winged gull.
The image below is of the same bird above which shows the pale bill base more readily, the slightly pale grey scapulars showing through, the plain small head and same wing pattern as on the left side.
Glaucous-winged Gull, juvenile: Roberts Lake, Monterey, California, USA - 24th November 2009
This bird does appear to pose any identification challenges: The wings look a little long as they are slightly drooped thus exposing more of the feather giving the impression of greater extension beyond the tertials.
The Primary tips; the tertials, solid greater coverts bar; lesser and median coverts, juvenile scapulars and all dark bill along with overall jizz are typical.
Note also here the dark shin pads giving a laddered affect up the leg, it may not be a specific ID feature but it adds to dark legged appearance where as some of the older plumages birds didn't appear to have it.?
