Heuglini 3cy, February 27 2001, Bahrain: Manama harbour.

These two images of a 3cy clearly show the general expression in heuglini, completely different from both barabensis and fuscus. Barabensis is several shades of grey paler (see the one in the background) and has a more friendly expression while the head is rounded with a shorter stout, high-based bill. Fuscus is much darker than heuglini, almost black and is not as strongly and heavy built as this individual. However, we came across some heuglini which approached fuscus in jizz: gently and slender in appearance.

The head in this bird appears elongated, the head sloped and the bill rather long but heavy, as can commonly be found in cachinnans. Although this bird may show the strongest bill seen in heuglini, the gonydeal angle still is not particularly obvious. The iris is pale yellow, the orbital ring red, as in sub-adult heuglini.

On the head, nape and neck, some feathers still show dark tips of winter plumage. In Bahrain, heuglini proved to have at least some winter streaking on head and neck, on average more than in barabensis.

All the mantle and scapulars are adult-like grey and moult seem to be completed. In the coverts a few second generation outer greater and lesser coverts can be seen. The central tertials were moulted very recently, the lowest feathers still show some spaghetti pattern along the fringe. 

The primaries are jet black. The legs are pinkish.

From a West-European perspective: apart from the relatively advanced moult, these kind of heuglini are very hard to distinguish from Dutch intergrade graellsii and several (East-Danish) intermedius (image below).

(below) LBBG intermedius DKC4196602, Boulogne-sur-Mer / Le Portel, NW France, October 04 2002.

An adult bird metal-ringed right Copenhavn 4196602. Primary moult stage: P5 fully grown and P8-P10 still present. A strong and more powerful intermedius (maybe a male) with an attenuated rear, long neck and long bill, somewhat cachinnans-like in general appearance.