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Caspian Gull Photo Essay. From first-winter to second-winterBrian J Small |
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Fig. 1
First-winter Caspian Gull, Blythburgh, 10th February 2000 |
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Fig. 2
Southwold harbour, 18th April 2000 |
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Fig. 3
Blythburgh, 1st August 2000 |
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Fig. 4
Blythburgh, 11th August 2000 Compare the above two images, taken ten days apart. Note the dropping of the outermost primary, and how different the gull looks from a new angle. |
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Fig. 5
Walberswick pigfields, 7th September 2000 Note the advance in plumage from August. The tertials have been dropped, the mantle & scapulars are intrinsically grey, the body is whiter and the bill is paler. |
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Fig. 6
Southwold, 5th November 2000 |
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Fig. 7
Southwold harbour 27th November 2000 (adult Herring Gull argenteus to its left) Note the structure: relatively small, distinctively shaped head (high sloping forehead quite domed with a peak on the nape); long bill, a pinkish base and white tip separated by a fairly broad dark sub-terminal band; quite high chest; flat backed without a tertial step; thin and long primaries; long legs. The stance is also interesting, in that it holds the wings angled down a more upright stance. |
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Fig. 8
Southwold harbour, 27th November 2000 As well as showing the bill pattern clearly, this image is interesting in that the whole of the median coverts have been shed, leaving the bases of the greater-coverts exposed (they are largely second-generation). However, of more interest is the pattern on the underside of the longest primary: this shows a small white mark near its tip, coming from the white shaft streak. The primaries are second-generation, and to my eyes look rather narrow and pointed.
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