White-eyed Gull (L. leucophthalmus)
& Sooty Gull (L. hemprichii)
(last update:
Sooty Gull L. hemprichii adult, March 04 2002, visitor's centre of Nabq National Park, SE Sinai, Egypt.
Sooty Gull has a thicker and straighter bill than
White-eyed Gull, with a pronounced
gonydeal angle. In all plumages the bill is clearly two-toned with a paler
basal half and a dark tip. The basal half is yellowish-grey in immatures
and yellow in adults. At close distance, the black tip of the bill in
adult plumage appears to be a black bill-band with a small red tip. The
eye crescent
is less-defined in Sooty, yet obvious above the eye, white in adults and off-white in first winter
plumage, but never as conspicuous as in White-eyed Gull. Normally the
lower crescent is missing, where White-eyed Gull shows a clear crescent
both above and below the eye.
Sooty Gull is more robust than White-eyed Gull with a strong neck and high
breast. It has a steep forehead (sloped forehead in White-eyed) and a
rounder head-shape in profile, unlike the elongated pointed head-shape of
White-eyed.
The base colour of White-eyed Gull is greyish or brown-grey with the
accent on the grey hue. Sooty Gull is obvious warmer brown; the immatures
warm brown on the head and neck and adults warmer brown on the scapulars
and mantle. Sooty Gull lacks the black feathers present on the head of
second winter and adult winter White-eyed Gulls.
