Juvenile: Undisclosed Site, Essex - 1st August 2009
Note the largely white head contrasting with the heavily brown streaked lower hind-neck. The head is quite large and squarish with streaking at the rear of the large eye forming a slight patch. Note also the plumage is fresh. The tertials are solidly dark brown with neat white tips and fringes which extend down the feather to about half way.
The greater coverts are dark brown centred with bold white tips and fringes but become more solidly dark towards the outer feathers. The inners are more heavily notched with oak leaf pattern. The median coverts are similarly patterned whilst the lesser coverts are pale fringed and have an almost 'scaled' quality.
The scapulars are dark brown centred with white tips and fringes however note that this bird has already replaced at least two scapulars for buff-toned broad transvered barred first-winter feathers.
The ground colour is whitish with brown mottling.
The bill is heavy and thickset with deep Gonydeal expansion and blunt tip whilst the dark primaries are long with three primary tips beyond the end of the tail.
Yellow-legged Gull - Larus michahellis
Juveniles
Juvenile: Undisclosed Site, Essex - 1st August 2009
Same bird as above; note the features detailed above.
Juvenile: Undisclosed Site, Essex - 1st August 2009
A typical bird. Note the solidly dark brown, white tipped tertials; the long primary projection, the white ground colour, rather large and heavy head and dark brown wing coverts.
The greater coverts are brown based becoming increasingly darker towards the outer forming a dark wedge whilst the inners are more barred.
The bill is heavy and rather bulbous at the tip.
Juvenile: Undisclosed Site, Essex - 1st August 2009
Pay attention to the greater covert pattern, the whitish head with fine but densely marked ear coverts, overall dark brown finely white edge wing coverts, scapulars and tertials (not buffy or oak leafed as in Herring Gull), the white under-tail coverts with spare dark barring, long pale pinkish legs and heavy, slightly bulbous tipped bill.
Juvenile: Undisclosed Site, Essex - 1st August 2009
A slightly browner headed individual than those above but note the heavier streaking around the eye and the whiter loral region. The bill is typical, being thickset, bulbous and blunt tipped.
The tertials are plain dark brown with fine whitish tips and fringes.
The greater covert pattern is show to good effect in the open wing; more solidly dark across the whole feather on the outers becoming increasingly pale fringed and tipped towards the inners thus resulting in a dark wedge on the wing. The outer primaries are darkish brown whilst the inner primaries are paler, especially on the inner webs but do not create the obvious pale window as seen in Herring Gull.
The upper-tail coverts are white with sparce barring which contrasts strongly with the broad blackish tail band, the bases of the inner rectrices are white with fine dark 'marbling'.
Compare with the tail pattern of Herring Gull.
Juvenile: Undisclosed Site, Essex - 26th July 2009
This underside flight shot shows the whitish ground colour well. The chin, throat and upper-breast are unmarked white with a white 'collar' and plain pale lores extending up onto the forehead. The ear coverts appear dusky resulting in a masked appearance.
The bill is typically heavy and blunt tipped.
Also not the dusky under-wing coverts.
Juvenile: Paglesham Lagoon, Essex - August 2005
A strikingly constrasting bird. As can be seen a number of of the mantle and scapulars have already been replaced by first-winter feathers by August.
Note the following and compare the with juvenile Herring Gull to the right.
- Bill heavy, dark, bulbous and blunt tipped
- Head large and fairly square with large obvious eye
- Head and under-parts white with brown mottling to the breast sides and flanks (Herring is wholly mottled dirty muddy brown)
- Dark brown wing coverts with fine fringing (coverts are prominently fringed white creating a more checkered pattern)
- The under-tail coverts are white with sparce barring (the Herring shows heavier broadly spaced barring)
- The legs are on the long and thin side and are pale pink (The Herrings also looks rather long and similarly coloured but appear thicker set).
The differences as a whole are striking.
Juvenile: Undisclosed Site, Essex - 8th August 2009
The typical features are visible in this image:
- Whitish ground colour with contrasting pale head and neck
- Large square head with peak at the rea crown
- Dark streaking around the eye forming a band mask
- Large heavy bill with blunt tip
- Dark brown scapulars, tertials and wing coverts which are neatly fringed white
- Outer greater coverts are rather dark compared to the whiter more obviously pattern inner greater coverts.
- The belly is white with dark barring extending onto the under-tail coverts
- Blackish primaries
- Overall a large and bulky looking bird.
Juvenile: Undisclosed Site, Essex - 29th August 2009
All of the typical features can be seen here; review the above for the characteristics.
The bird is rather elegant and perhaps even recalls Caspian Gull in Jizz however the plumage characters, aspects to the structure and the bill size and shape rule that species out.
Juvenile: Undisclosed Site, Essex - 8th August 2009
The typical features are visible in this image:
- Whitish ground colour with contrasting pale head and neck
- Large square head with peak at the rea crown
- Dark streaking around the eye forming a band mask
- Large heavy bill with blunt tip
- Dark brown scapulars, tertials and wing coverts which are neatly fringed white
- Outer greater coverts are rather dark compared to the whiter more obviously pattern inner greater coverts.
- The belly is white with dark barring extending onto the under-tail coverts
- Blackish primaries
- Overall a large and bulky looking bird.
Juvenile: Undisclosed Site, Essex - 8th August 2009
The typical features are visible in this image:
- Whitish ground colour with contrasting pale head and neck
- Large square head with peak at the rea crown
- Dark streaking around the eye forming a band mask
- Large heavy bill with blunt tip
- Dark brown scapulars, tertials and wing coverts which are neatly fringed white
- Outer greater coverts are rather dark compared to the whiter more obviously pattern inner greater coverts.
- The belly is white with dark barring extending onto the under-tail coverts
- Blackish primaries
- Overall a large and bulky looking bird.
Yellow-legged Gull, juvenile, Essex July 2010
Note that this bird has already replaced several scapulars before the month is out, roll over the image
Yellow-legged Gull, juvenile moulting to first-winter, Essex 4th September 2010
Note how far advanced the Yellow-legged Gull is in replacing its Scapulars, many of the juvenile Lesser Black-backed Gulls haven't even started to replace these feathers yet.
Yellow-legged Gull, juvenile moulting to first-winter, Essex 4th September 2010
Note how far advanced this bird is its moult, virtually all of the scapulars have been replaced save for a few of the lower feathers.
The scapulars are dark buffish-grey with bold dark anchor marks.
The wing coverts are dark brown centred with neat and narrow white fringed creating a rather solidly dark wing.
On the greater coverts the the dark brown becomes more extensive towards the outer feathers creating a dark 'wedge'.
The tertials are solidly dark brown with narrow white fringes that extend only about half way along the feather edges.
The upper-tail coverts can just be seen which are bright white with bold blackish bars.
Note the bill is very stout with blunt tip and prominent Gonydeal angle.
Yellow-legged Gull, juvenile moulting to first-winter, Essex 4th September 2010
Compare with the bird above. This individual is cleaner white on the head and neck with isolated stand out eye thus recalling a Caspian Gull. However the head shape, chunky blunt tipped bill and large eye alone exclude this possibility.
This bird has replaced fewer scapulars.
The wing is rather uniform with only narrow fringes and again note the dark wedge on the outer greater coverts and the darker brown tertials.
Yellow-legged Gull, juvenile, Undisclosed Site, Essex, 14th August 2010
Bird included here as shows the tail pattern well; broad blackish band with white bases.
Note the very limited pale inner primary window, the darker bases to the outer greater coverts, the broad hand to the outer wing and the dusky 'mask' around the eye along with the whiter forehead.
Yellow-legged Gull, juvenile, Essex July 2011
Very similar the previous bird.
Note the contrasting white tail with blackish tail band with marginal blackish internal markings.
The wing coverts are edged white and give a scaled appearance. Minimal pale window on the inner primaries.
Yellow-legged Gull, juvenile, Essex July 2011
Note the tertial patterning; the neat pale fringes to the coverts and scapulars give a crazy paving impression.
The head is large with large centrally placed eye with dusky markings around it. The bills hefty and blunt tipped with prominent Gonydeal expansion.
A number of inner Scapulars are newly replaced as are one or two inner median coverts.
Yellow-legged Gull, juvenile, Essex July 2011
Classic shape and build of a juvenile michahellis.
The large whitish head with hefty bill; the finely edged wing coverts and already replaced scapulars. The bird is rather heavy chested.
The greater coverts on this bird are particularly open with the outer feathers being darker towards the tips and gradually becoming whiter towards the inner feathers creating a darker outer wedge.
The Tertials are typically dark with fine white edges that extend about two thirds along the feather edges.
Yellow-legged Gull, juvenile, Essex July 2011
Another classic bird.
Again by late July some of the scapulars have already been replaced.
Note the whitish ground colour, large head, heavy blunt tipped bill, tertials and wing covert pattern and relatively elongated appearance.
Yellow-legged Gull, juvenile, with Lesser Black-backed Gull, juvenile, Essex July 2011
The Yellow-legged Gull is the same as that pictured two images above.
Compared with the juvenile Lesser Black-backed Gull to the left the michahellis is noticeably whiter with crisper feather edges and has an over all more bulky appearance.
The Lesser Black-backed Gull is darker, more dingy with buffy-gold spangled appearance apart from the white tail.
