All these presumed first-basic smithsonianus Herring Gulls were photographed at Elliot
Landfill, Corpus Christi, Texas, on January 06, 2005. Do they all represent normal variation range-wide within smithsonianus, or are some hybrids, intergrades, or population-level variations depicted here?:
1)
2)
3) This bird was tiny; not much larger than RBGU. Maybe it's got thayeri in it, but the bill suggests it not pure thayeri...:
4) Here note the odd combination of all-dark outer webs to all the primaries but with the pale on the inner webs extending to at least P7:
5) Those P-tips don't look like first-generation, but everything else does...:
6) From mid-January on, I see a few birds with almost white greater coverts (some more-so than this bird):
7) Note the active molt in the inner greater and median coverts - this is the only HERG I've ever seen like this in Jan:
8) This bird is not oiled or soiled; note the extensive amount of secondaries showing below the coverts (even allowing for wear)
