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Project Noah Nature School
Leucophaeus atricilla
This seagull was all over the beach areas. It doesn't look like any of the named gulls. The second and third pictures were taken in a restaurant nearby on a table, begging for food. This poor fellow had lost one of his legs, so he got lots of food from everyone.
Beach and surrounding areas, including outdoor restaurants, Nassau, Bahamas.
This turned out to be a bit tricky to identify and I thank everyone who was so helpful and gave so much of their time. The consensus is that this is the Laughing Gull in it's winter plumage (as seen in one of the lower thumbnail photos in the reference).
Thank you Daniele and Jellis for all your help with this gull. As the final decision was for the Laughing Gull, I have added the information. Thank you again.
Now looking at the winter plumage and seeing the that the mouth being open looks different could still be the same as the ones close. As I mentioned I was thinking Laughing gull but the mouth in the 2nd and 3rd didn't look like the 1st picture.
It does look like the Laughing Gull in winter plumage. In your link, the 4th thumbnail picture looks like it. But shouldn't it have a red beak or at least a half red beak? Maybe they are all juveniles, do those have black beaks?
It really does look like the Laughing Gull in winter plumage, but shouldn't the beak be red or at least half red?
Hi Jellis and Daniele. Thank you for helping me with this bird. I am glad my own confusion with him wasn't a sign of being a bird brain. I've added the original picture that I pulled the 3rd bird out of. He was on a white table and I don't know why it has the weird shadow around him as if he was in front of a curtain. Maybe the flash was on. There are other birds around on the ground, including one that has a view from the back of him.
My question is what kind of surface the last two shot were taken, that the bird was standing on to have a shadow directly behind the head and no break were the flat surface where it's standing?
I agree Jellis. To me the beak on the bird in the second and third shot looks somehow different from the ones on the first shot...
This page has a list of gulls, terns and skimmers of the Bahamas, most of which I am not familiar with. Hope someone else can help further!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_bir...
These could be adult Laughing Gulls in their winter definitive basic plumage. See whether anybody else confirms or has another suggestion!
The Black Billed Gull has a completely white head, this one has a kind of grey head.
Hi Jellis, The other two pictures were taken in a restaurant nearby on a table, so I was able to get them up close.
Found this Black Billed Gull Chroicocephalus bulleri that looks like it but they are in New Zealand.
Spotted on Sep 22, 2012
Submitted on Nov 18, 2012
+1
