Caspian Gull
24-01-22
What to look for? This is not exhaustive – nor in order – but:
- Dark or specled iris (HG/YLG can also have dark iris)
- Small “beady” / “piggish” eye
- Long bill with gentle curve on upper mandible and low/no gonydeal angle on lower
- Bill less “robust” than YLG
- Striking white head (be wary of Jan+ herrings)
- “Shawl” around the back of the neck
- “High chest”
- Long, thin neck
- “Flat” back
- Darker relative mantle (upperparts?) vs herring
- Long, possibly thin-ish legs
- Yellow or yellow-ish legs, but can be pink-ish
- White tip on P10, also less black than white overall on P10
- Full black bar on P5
- “Grey tongues” on primaries
- “Sloping forehead” / pear-shaped head – this is more of a general impression thing I think – “snouty”
- Probably won’t have a flat crown
- “Albatross pose”
- Quite a few of the characteristics resemble common gull
- Dark tertials and greater covert bases at rest in 1w (like GBBG)
- Birds mature at a different stage in winter vs herring so can be good to note wear and tear and mantle moult
- Sometimes black ring around bill in winter adults
- “Angular” back of head
- Greenish/yellow bill in winter like common gull
