At 21:37 3/01/99 +1000, John Holt wrote:
> a gull that my wife and I saw in Adelaide. ... with a group
>of "normal" Silver Gulls, from about 5meters distance.
> ...slightly larger than Silver Gull, darker gray, more heavily built...
>Gray over-all, lightest on the breast, darkest on wings, plain, dull grey,
not >silver. Breast about colour of a Silver Gulls wings, and our gulls
wings were >considerably darker. Eye white with black rim. Bill deep dark
red with no coloured >tip. legs and feet dark red to black. No sign of
mottling or juvenile >plumage... seemed to be taking its place in the flock.
Hmmmm, puzzling.
John,
Your description doesn't really fit too many species. For a start, the red
bill eliminates most of the worlds 50+ species of gull. Some remaining
contenders are:
Dolphin gull: highly unlikely S. Am. species. Medium sized, quite dark grey
(slaty grey) upperparts and pale grey underparts, Bright red bill and legs
as adult with RED orbital ring (eye-rim). Immature plumages not so well
described but have dark eyes, brown legs and dark tip to bill.
Heermans gull: highly unlikely species from W coast N. Am. Medium sized
sooty grey gull (darker above). Young birds brownish. Adult has white head,
red bill with black tip, dark grey legs, with white head. Iris DARK.
orbital ring RED.
Franklin's and Laughing gulls sometimes have red bills and Laughin
sometimes has clouded underparts but neither fit other aspects of the
description.
Sooty and White-eyed gulls are sort of grey with reddish bareparts but
always have hoods or mottled hoods and don't fit your description at all
well.
Silver gull: Near Wollongong in the early '80s I saw a silver gull that was
sooty on the bits that should have been silver and silver on the bits that
should have been white. except the wing pattern was identicle to a silver
gull with normal colour and pattern. I didn't see the bare parts as it was
just flying by the headland. People told me it must have been stained (and
many stained gulls are seen around wollongong) but I don't think so. The
jizz and bare-parts colours of your bird don't really fit Silver gull either.
Maybe your gull was a freak or maybe it was a crippler. without photos you
will probably never know.
cheers,
David James
PO BOX 5225
Townsville Mail Centre 4810
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