This gull was photographed at Bolivar Flats, Texas on November
21, 1999 by Martin Reid. It immediately stood out due to the freshness
of its almost-full juvenile plumage, the blackish tone to the
feather centers (nearby 1CY HEGUs were dark brownish), the even,
almost un-notched whitish edges to the scapulars, and the bicolored,
slender yet droop-tipped bill. The only North American taxon that
comes close to this individual would be a very large, late-hatched
albertaensis California Gull with oddly-long tail and legs;
could it be something else?:
- there are signs that the dark tail band is rather narrow for
any American taxon (esp. it seems too barred laterally for CAGU?):
- in the first image above, the visible underwing coverts look
rather pale.
It matched the size of a smallish HEGU, and had similar leg proportions:
