American Herring Gull (smithsonianus)

(last update: October 30, 2015)

Coordinators:
Amar Ayyash (US)
Bruce Mactavish (Canada)
Dave Brown (Canada)
Mars Muusse (Netherlands)

American Herring Gull (smithsonianus) 1st cycle (2CY), January 03 2013, Barnegat Light, NJ. Picture: Brian Kushner.

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Scaps replaced, last moulted feathers still with grey hue and neat fringes. Lower scaps, coverts and tertials all juvenile.

This photo with excellent details nicely shows the differences between old juvenile (faded brown) body feathers contrasting with new 2nd gen (greyish) feathers in neck, side of breast and flank. This also counts for the 2nd gen head feathers with fine streaking, where you can spot a few old brown feathers in the eyebrow behind the eye.