Gulls in NW Europe
(last update: September 25, 2011
Herring Gull 2cy 511 A (argenteus) July & September 2010, Le Portel, NW France.
Ringed as pullus at Calais, Pas-de-Calais, France on July 11 2009. Metal: Paris EA675967.
below: 511 A (argenteus) July 19 2010, Le Portel, NW France. Pictures: Maarten van Kleinwee.
Second-calendar year Herring Gull, moulting to second-winter plumage. The tertials are second-generation and are dark with a white tip. Most wing coverts (carpal edge still juvenile) are replaced by second-generation feathers, and have a blocked pattern (some still show a buffish-yellow tinge). The rounded tip of a second-generation primary (P6 fully grown) is extruding the tertials and contrasts with the more pointed first-generation primaries which are a faded brown. The base of the bill is starting to colour pink; the head is light with dark streaks, the eye spot is dark. The breast, underbody and flanks are white with dark barring. The legs are pink.
Below: 511A 2cy (argenteus), September 02 2010, Boulogne-sur-Mer, France. Picture: J-M Sauvage.
At the end of the complete moult: P8 fully grown, P9-P10 growing. Partial autumn moult started: upper tertials again missing.
