Mew Gull Larus canus canus; heinei; kamtschatschensis; brachyrhynchus

(last update: March 12, 2012)

Mew Gull heinei SVS 7143452 7cy, 25 January 1998, Malmö, Sweden.

Figure 28: 7143452 (371/95,5) six-year old male (7CY), probable heinei, with normal wing-tip pattern but black on P4. 25 January 1998. Originally ringed 01 March 1993.

We have ten six-year old birds in our material and they are surprisingly similar. For example all have only two mirrors (while 42% of five-year old birds and 37% of 7-12 year-old birds have three mirrors). This demonstrates that 10 birds still is a small sample size and that coincidence may influence the conclusions. In fig 28 (see image below) we show a probable male heinei, identification based on darker grey tone of wing-coverts and mantle and the sharp contrast between white and grey on primaries. This bird has black on seven primaries, which is more than average, and supports the hypothesis that heinei has more black in the wing-tip than canus. This same individual is also documented as seven-year old bird, with an identical wing pattern (no photo added).

Figure from:
Is it possible to age subadult Mew Gulls Larus canus?
by: Kenneth Bengtsson & Lennarth Blomquist, publication in: Anser 2-42(2003): p 73-92.