Little Gull Larus minutus

(last update: March 02, 2015)

Little Gull minutus, 1st cycle (2CY), August 01 2014, Manitowoc, WI. Picture: Amar Ayyash.

Plesae visit Amar's blog on Anything Larus, for more gulls.

Little Gulls completing 2nd prebasic molts. Also pictured here is a Semipalmated Plover, Semipalmated Sandpiper and Least Sandpiper (bottom left corner).

The bird right: still old outer primaries.

Compare with Boanaparte's Gull (undergoing 2nd prebasic molt). First summer Bonaparte's are a bit behind Little Gulls in flight feather molt. Consider this one-year old that is still holding on to half of its juvenile (1st basic) secondaries and a few outer primaries: