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As two yellow-legged gulls (Larus micahellis) protect their turf a third gull tries to find a landing spot. Slender-billed gull, juvenile/1st winter? Opinions appreciated!
The shores of a large Central European lake.
Slender-bills Gull belong to a different genus. I believe they have orange legs and bills (longer bills, too).
According to my Sibley's, adult Common Gulls have yellow legs. If you look at the page I linked in my suggestion, there is a nonbreeding adult with yellowish legs.
Thanks Carol! nico4nicolas, thanks for your comment! It was smaller than the yellow-legged ones. I didn't get another shot as they didn't let it land. We don't normally get Larus fuscus in this area... Some gulls which are not dark-eyed can look dark-eyed depending on the light. So I'm still puzzled...
I haven't been to the shore in years. I really would love a seagull spot too. Lovely!
Was it as big as the yellow-legged gulls or smaller? The slender-billed gull doesn't seem to fit the profile. I would have said Larus canus or Larus fuscus. I'm a bit curious about its black eye, I never noticed black eyes on gulls before...
Hey Liam! Thanks for your suggestion! This is indeed in the winter range for Larus Canus. But the feet colour seems wrong for the bird in this plumage (I'm looking at plates in my Collins guide). What do you think of slender-billed gull?
Spotted on Jan 26, 2013
Submitted on Feb 1, 2013
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