Larus armenicus adults, 15 October 2010, Maagan Michael, Israel. Picture: Amir Ben Dov.
Adult armenicus at the beach. Bird with no old primaries in the wing: P10 has been dropped as well. This is the final stage of the complete moult. Simultaneously, birds finish the moult in the rectrices and finally the gap in the central secondaries will close as well. Common moult stage by mid October is: P7 fully grown, with no old primaries left.
Here: P7 fully grown, P8 halfway. Bird illustrates moult in rectrices, which are replaced centrifugal (from central feathers outwards, with R6 often replaced before R5. When growing, this is most obvious as the outer feather is slightly longer than R5. Gap in central secondaries, with a small group of feathers (approximately S16-S18) still old.
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