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During a three-day visit to Corpus Christi and Brownsville Dumps in Texas in mid-February, I was able to study c. 130+ adult smithsonianus Herring Gulls. Of these, about 15 - 20% showed a distinct yellowish tone in the legs; usually in the form of a dull, pale yellowish-straw tone to the forepart of the tarsus - but on at least two birds this same color was apparent over the entire leg (just the toe-webbing looked more fleshy). On the birds with yellowish tarsi, the remaining parts (tibia, "knees", feet) were a darker dull purply-pink compared to the uniform bright fleshy-pink legs of the majority of birds. Here are two fairly typical examples: 1)

Fig 1:

Fig 2: crop from Fig 1

Fig 3:same bird as in Fig 1

Fig 4:same bird as in Fig 1

Fig 5:the left bird from Fig 1.

Figs 6 & 7: a different bird