Hybrid or European Herring Gulls
in Connecticut
On this page I present photos of three different "large white-headed gulls" of the "Herring type." Perhaps they are all Herring X Lesser hybrids, but who knows? Perhaps the third is a European Herring Gull argentatus argentatus, and maybe one or more is a large very pale Lesser. Opinions are welcome.
I did not get to see any of these birds. All photos were taken by the amazing Patrick Comins at the amazing Manchester landfill near Hartford Connecticut, which is no longer open. Alas, a loss for all lariphiles!
Patrick explains:
Bird One
This bird was seen at the Manchester Landfill in March, 1999. I [Patrick] was
immediately struck by the 'mantle' color, which was distinctly darker
than the nearby smithsonianus, but not dark enough for typical graelsii.
It was apparently an adult bird. The leg color stuck me as sort of a
fleshy pale yellow color, with one of the legs being distinctly yellower
than the other. The apical spots were rather small compared with
smithsonianus, and in flight the bird showed increased black and reduced
white in the wingtips.
The possibility does remain that the bird was just a pale Lesser,
however, it was on the large side, with a rather heavy bill. The head
streaking pattern was intermediate between Herring and Lesser. That is
supporting evidence of it being a hybrid, but at that time of year I am
not sure that is concrete evidence. Given that the bird was intermediate
between Herring and Lesser Black-backed in so many ways, the most likely
ID I could come up with was a hybrid. Of course something strange like
one of the Asian gulls can not be ruled out, as I don't have any
experience with them.
I quickly grabbed my video camera and camera and began shooting away.
The bird flew off and was never seen again.
Photos, Taken by Patrick Comins
As always, click on the thumbnail to load the full image.
Bird Two
This bird was first seen a few days before the Christmas Count, in
December 1999 at the Manchester Landfill. It remained through the count,
and even lingered a couple of weeks after the dump stopped receiving
edible refuse. It was the last "good" gull that I saw there.
I [Patrick] was able to take many photos of this bird. It was clearly a different
individual than the one seen in March, as it was a subadult bird, as can
be seen on the open wing shot(4th year? or advanced 3rd year?). Like the
March bird it was the 'mantle' color that first drew my attention to this
bird. The leg color was for the most part pink, however there was a
touch of yellow peeking through.
This bird was clearly intermediate between Herring and Lesser
Black-backed in many ways. It was slightly smaller than a typical
Herring Gull, and note the very small-headed appearance compared with the
relatively large bill. On the open wing, there is more black in the
outer primaries than is generally seen on a Herring Gull, and note the
small mirror on P10. One feature noted by one of the observers (an
author of a recent field guide) was that the wings were too broad for the
bird to be a pale Lesser Black-backed, again intermediate between the two
species. The head streaking pattern also was intermediate, with more
contrasting dark streaks, with heavier streaking on the nape and more
concentrated streaking around the eye than is typical of smithsonianus.
Depending on lighting conditions, you might have thought that the bird
was either just a Lesser or just a Herring. In image 1299hyb1, the bird
was photographed in good light. Note the beautiful blue slate gray color
to the 'mantle'. This was pretty true to life; the bird was beautiful.
Photos, Taken by Patrick Comins
As always, click on the thumbnail to load the full image.
Bird Three
I am not sure what to make of this bird. It was seen for a few days
prior to the Christmas Count 1999. Again I was struck by the 'mantle' color.
Much like a California Gull in this case. This bird was another barely
subadult bird (4th winter or advanced 3rd?). Note the slightly drooping
wing posture. This was consistently held by this individual, at times
being more pronounced than in these two photos. Some have inquired as to
why this bird is not an argentatus. Perhaps it is another hybrid, or
perhaps it will remain forever unidentified.
Photos, Taken by Patrick Comins
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I would appreciate any input people might have into these three birds,
thank you. patrickcomins@juno.com
since January 3, 2001 (Thanks WebCounter!)
