Gulls in NW Europe
(last update: September 25, 2011
Herring Gull adult M.ACZ (argenteus) May 07 & June 24 2011, Texel, Kelderhuispolder, Gull colony, the Netherlands. Pictures: Maarten van Kleinwee.
Ringed as breeding adult male (4+cy) on the nest, on May 23 2009, Kelderhuispolder, Texel, The Netherlands.
Adult European Herring Gull, with partner green F.AFN.
Last picture: May 07 2011. Adult male European Herring Gull in summer (alternate) plumage, together with female Green F.AFN (left), displaying "choking" behavior in which it squats and bends forwards while making pecking movements without touching the ground. Note also that the wing is not supported by the flank feathers (compare with the female on the left). Choking occurs in hostile clashes as well as in pair formation and nest-showing sequences (source: The Animal in Its Word - Niko Tinbergen).
