glaucoides - kumlieni

(last update: January 26, 2012)

Kumlien's Gull (kumlieni) adult. St John's - Newfoundland, Canada. Picture: Dave Brown.

Wingtips appearing quite dark grey but note how much paler they look in the second image. Slight pale brown wash to head, appearing almost white-headed from a distance. Slightly less rounded head than the this bird and bill appering slightly larger - perhaps a male? Wing tip coloration appears pale for Thayer's and note the white mirror that interrupts the black outer web of P9. Note also black markings on P6-P10, with a very tiny grey subterminal mark at P5.
The wingtips of perched adult Kumlien’s Gulls typically (77% of N = 185) appear “medium grey” (estimated Kodak 7-10; type specimen = Kodak 7-8; Table 1). Such markings are obviously darker than the upperparts, but clearly paler than the blackish grey (Kodak 14.5-17; score = 3) typical of Thayer’s Gull (Howell and Elliott 2001). A further 9% of birds had medium-pale (estimated Kodak 5-6) to medium-dark (estimated Kodak 11-13) wingtips, while 6% appeared all white (Kodak 0) and only 5% blackish grey (estimated Kodak 14-17). For explanation, see chart.