Mew Gull Larus canus canus; heinei; kamtschatschensis; brachyrhynchus

(last update: March 12, 2012)

Mew Gull canus 3CY, March 11 2017, Grou, the Netherlands. Picture: Mars Muusse.

Small white tips on (brownish) outer pirmaries. Dark markings on greater primary coverts. Note small dark markings on central secondaries. Note also full band on P4. Possibly heinei on wingtip (B5b2a in table 4). Head streaking classic canus.

Naughty Common Gull with much black in wingtip. 
There are even some secondary centres showing black spots.
An obvious 2nd cycle (3CY March) bird (table 4): no grey on outerweb of P9, a complete black band on P4 and some black on P3, P7 and P8 without a tongtip, and the mirror on P9 also on the outerweb. This primary pattern leads to heinei (B5b2a), and together with the black centred secondaries may suggest so, but to me the dense head streaking and the greenish bill make canus more likely.