This is the sixth of eight white-winged gulls found in Hirtshals Harbour in just one afternoon, with seven Kumlien's /Iceland Gull-types and one 2cy Glaucous Gull.
It is considered to be an Iceland Gull though this is not to say it is not Kumlien's Gulls. It has without doubt some rather dark peppered eyes, distinct pigmentation along the tip of the outer primaries and the pearl grey colour on the inner web is intensified in colour towards the tip of the outer primaries thus creating the impression of “a string of pearls” which is good for Kumlien’s. However, whether these characters are considered sufficient to claim a Kumlien's in Europe I will leave unanswered and put it down as an Iceland Gull for now. Other photos of the same individual were taken on January 21 and Februar 25. Any comments are more than welcome.
The primary pattern is just about identical to this and this from Hirtshals and this from Hanstholm. The latter has been identified as a Kumlien's Gull by local people due to the faint dark pigmentation along the very tip of the outer primaries.
1 comments:
I have very limited experience with the species but to me I think your right; glaucoides.
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