www.gull-research.org

had a look on some strange patterned 1cy michs, one of them is the known pic on chris gibbins' blog:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_JXeDixaPw40/S ... 688web.jpg

a recent pic by cristian, bucharest 25.08.
http://www.birdforum.net/attachment.php ... 1282762663

i would be interested if such GC and TT pattern occure in western YLGs also? ruud, theo?

in both cases it looks as if the paler portions in e.g. these tertials: http://www.helsinki.fi/~rauste/g/data/p ... _67158.jpg
darker but still visible here:
http://lou.bertalan.de/gulls/pic/hi/up_0130.jpg
and then the notched type: http://lou.bertalan.de/gulls/pic/hi/up_0126.jpg
http://lou.bertalan.de/gulls/m_phi.php? ... llis%201cy

and some really have broad all white TT tips: a pale type http://www.helsinki.fi/~rauste/g/data/p ... _67060.jpg

it might be fruitless to assume eastern influences without really study them, speculate about geneflow, looking at the more filigrane GC pattern in the first 2 examples...

chris' recent pics on his blog shows quite a large variation in pattern: http://chrisgibbins-gullsbirds.blogspot ... larus.html, beautiful bids like this:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_JXeDixaPw40/T ... G_8755.jpg

etc.


lou

Since YLG are very rare as a breeder, juveniles in autumn are not from here.
They come either from the south or the east. It is difficult to judge the origin when a YLG is not ringed.
I do agree with you that YLG juv's are variable in eg tertials and gc.
Therefore, I only name the easier birds, especially since the very common LBBG are very variable and can be really difficult to exclude.
For instance, what about this one, seen 2 days ago in Zeeland...

Theo

Strange things happens!

http://www.tarsiger.com/gallery/index.p ... 6&lang=eng

JanJ

That is more a lbbg to me...

Theo

Theo Muusse wrote:That is more a lbbg to me...

Theo

indeed. or - who knows - a mixture from central european russia ..

your 1cy from zeeland, theo, looks like a good michahellis to me, although one with pale underwings, retarded in scaps moult and tertial crescents reaching GC.

cheers

Pale underwing in michahellis can also be seen in this one

I will show some of the 1CY ylg seen two days ago, to show the variation.
It was the best day so far in this season.

Theo