Pure 3cy Mediterranean Gull?

Post Reply
Ruud Altenburg
Posts:248
Joined:Sun Sep 27, 2009 1:58 pm
Pure 3cy Mediterranean Gull?

Post by Ruud Altenburg » Tue Jun 01, 2010 2:38 pm

Pictures of this bird by Martijn de Jonge, taken in a colony near Amsterdam, have been circulating a few times now with the question if this involves a pure bird or a Mediterranean x Black-headed Gull. To me this looks like an ordinary 3cy Mediterranean Gull but does anybody have pictures of proven hybrids?
Attachments
img1.jpg
img1.jpg (31.65KiB)Viewed 10904 times
img3.jpg
img3.jpg (38.46KiB)Viewed 10904 times
img2.jpg
img2.jpg (30.22KiB)Viewed 10904 times

adriaens
Posts:229
Joined:Sun Sep 27, 2009 9:24 pm

Re: Pure 3cy Mediterranean Gull?

Post by adriaens » Tue Jun 01, 2010 6:51 pm

Any flight shots, Ruud ?

The white leading edge to the hand of Black-headed Gull seems to be a dominant trait, and usually present in hybrids - though the sample of such hybrids is very small.

Derek Charles has photos of two hybrids here:
http://www.pbase.com/derekcharles/med_x ... ded_hybrid

Nico Geiregat had one last winter, and has posted the photo on this forum already, if I remember correctly:
http://waarnemingen.be/waarneming/view/46491919

Your fellow countryman Mark Hoekstein photographed one a few weeks ago:
http://waarneming.nl/waarneming/view/47922808

Here is an English bird from January 2009:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/richandrew ... 383383549/
(two more pics can be seen by clicking the left arrow in the set)

Photos of a Swedish bird can be seen in the MeeuwNL mailinglist files, for those who are a member.

I have been sent a flight shot of a recent bird from Tienen (Vlaams-Brabant), Belgium, and I also have a flight shot of a Dutch bird (dated 7 April 2007, but I do not know the name of the photographer).
Furthermore, there is a painting of a German bird and some information in the MeeuwNL mailinglist files, as well as sketches of and info on a French bird.

A colour-ringed bird from Poland (red PEL3) is said to be a hybrid (but looks rather like a normal Black-headed Gull ?). A photo can be seen near the bottom of the following page:
http://home.scarlet.be/~pin02658/cr-MediterraGull.htm
A little more information on this bird here.

That is all I know of. If other people have more photos, please share!

User avatar
JanJ
Posts:437
Joined:Mon Oct 12, 2009 10:08 pm

Re: Pure 3cy Mediterranean Gull?

Post by JanJ » Wed Jun 02, 2010 8:06 pm


User avatar
Hans Larsson
Posts:47
Joined:Tue Nov 24, 2009 9:49 pm

Re: Pure 3cy Gull?

Post by Hans Larsson » Wed Jun 02, 2010 8:35 pm

With that primary pattern and leg + bill colour, the Swedish bird should be a Common x Black-headed hybrid, right? http://www.artportalen.se/artportalen/g ... geID=43252
The Amsterdam one looks like a nice Mediterranean to me :-)

/Hans

adriaens
Posts:229
Joined:Sun Sep 27, 2009 9:24 pm

Re: Pure 3cy Gull?

Post by adriaens » Thu Jun 03, 2010 2:22 pm

Hans Larsson wrote:With that primary pattern and leg + bill colour, the Swedish bird should be a Common x Black-headed hybrid, right? http://www.artportalen.se/artportalen/g ... geID=43252

/Hans
Absolutely !
We have had a very similar bird in Belgium for at least 19 years now. It is quite photogenic:
http://users.skynet.be/ch-web/photos/larridXcan003.htm
http://users.skynet.be/ch-web/photos/larridXcan002.htm
http://www.natuurdigitaal.be/coppermine ... at=0&pos=1
http://waarnemingen.be/soort/photos/87973
http://waarnemingen.be/soort/photos/87973?&page=2

Ruud Altenburg
Posts:248
Joined:Sun Sep 27, 2009 1:58 pm

Re: Pure 3cy Mediterranean Gull?

Post by Ruud Altenburg » Fri Jun 04, 2010 2:32 pm

Thanks for the links, interesting birds!

User avatar
Hans Larsson
Posts:47
Joined:Tue Nov 24, 2009 9:49 pm

Re: Pure 3cy Mediterranean Gull?

Post by Hans Larsson » Sun Jun 06, 2010 7:27 pm

adriaens wrote: Absolutely !
We have had a very similar bird in Belgium for at least 19 years now. It is quite photogenic:
Indeed! :-)

/Hans

Post Reply