Sub-adult European Herring Gull with tertial spots

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little-W
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Sub-adult European Herring Gull with tertial spots

Post by little-W » Mon Apr 28, 2014 5:41 pm

I came across this rare occurrence of a sub-adult European Herring Gull with tertial spots this weekend.
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argentatus-4cy-tertial-spots-20140427-2.jpg (494.78KiB)Viewed 5481 times
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argentatus-4cy-tertial-spots-20140427-3.jpg (677.11KiB)Viewed 5481 times
It seems to be a 4th-calendar year (dark greater primary coverts) or 5th-calendar year (adult primaries) type.

Note the small black markings on the outer web of P5 and P4, as well as the staggered and sharply angled shape of the tongue on the underside of P10.

27 April 204, Maasvlakte, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Regards,

Maarten van Kleinwee
The Netherlands
http://www.flickr.com/photos/little-w/
Blog: Gulls to the horizon
Twitter: @Argentatus

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marsmuusse
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Re: Sub-adult European Herring Gull with tertial spots

Post by marsmuusse » Tue Apr 29, 2014 9:06 pm

Nice bird! Great pictures.

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