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Nick Komar | profile | all galleries >> Birds >> Large Gulls >> Lesser Black-backed Gulls >> graellsi (5th cycle and definitive adult) >> Lesser Black-backed Gull (5th-cycle), 27 November 2013, Larimer County Landfill, Colorado tree view | thumbnails | slideshow

Lesser Black-backed Gull (5th-cycle), 27 November 2013, Larimer County Landfill, Colorado

Graellsi Lesser Black-backed Gulls are no longer considered rare in Colorado. Uncommon would be a better description, and there are usually multiple individuals of this species in large gull flocks (of several hundred individuals). There were 2 adults among about 500 gulls on this late fall day at the local dump. P8 and P9 are missing (starting to molt in) and P10 is old. The small white mirror on P10 (smaller than full adult) combined with the unmolted adult secondaries suggest that this bird is completing its molt into definitive adult plumage, and therefore is probably in its 5th cycle, about 4.5 years old. The presence of a fairly large white "pearl" on the fresh P7 is noteworthy. Is this normal for graellsi in the USA? Is it indicative of gene introgression from another species?

The 2 images of the bird standing were digiscoped through a Kowa TSN-4 scope at 15x.

Click on an image to enlarge.
LBBG 5cy 11272013 Larimer CO NK 1.jpg LBBG 5cy 11272013 Larimer CO NK 2.jpg LBBG 5cy 11272013 Larimer CO NK 4.jpg LBBG 5cy 11272013 Larimer CO NK 5.jpg LBBG 5cy 11272013 Larimer CO NK 6.jpg