31 replies to this topic

[GreatHorn]

I was browsing a birding blog and I came across this picture (so it's not mine). They were unsure of the ID, and somebody suggested Mew Gull, but that seems like a heck of a sighting for this area. The ones on the right are Herrings, of course.

Muskegon, Michigan.... about a week ago.

[GreatHorn]

I'll put it down for juvenile Ring-billed then. Objections?

[Joejr14]

What's up with the dark legs?

[Eric Hopton]

Looks more like juvenile Laughing Gull moulting into 1st winter plumage but as I am in Uk am not sure about the likelihood of this in michigan. Also bill colouration not pure Laughing.

[GreatHorn]

Looks more like juvenile Laughing Gull moulting into 1st winter plumage but as I am in Uk am not sure about the likelihood of this in michigan. Also bill colouration not pure Laughing.

Thanks! The likelihood of Laughing is quite low, however. Gulls are pretty tricky

[Liam]

I don't see anything to suggest Laughing Gull. The coloration and proportions are all wrong for any "hooded" gull species. My initial thought was a messed-up Ring-billed Gull. With the dark legs and disproportionate bill, this thing is definitely abnormal. Hybrid is possible.

[psweet]

The dark legs look they could simply be soiled. I agree that the bill seems awfully small, but personally I'd feel comfortable calling this a really odd Ring-billed; the plumage is perfect for a juvenile molting into it's first cycle.

[TheBillyPilgrim]

I agree, the plumage looks good for a molting juvie Ring-Billed. Not sure what's up with the bill and legs maybe individual variation or possibly a hybrid? I haven't heard of ring-billed hybridizing that often but its definitely possible.

[psweet]

Down around Lake Calumet (SW Chicago) we've had a presumed Laughing X Ring-billed hybrid every summer for several years.

[TheBillyPilgrim]

Down around Lake Calumet (SW Chicago) we've had a presumed Laughing X Ring-billed hybrid every summer for several years.

Neat! Are there any shots of it on Flickr? I'd love to see what that looks like.

[RyanI]

Looks good for a juvenile RBG to me, the bill appears big due to feathers having moulted at the base of the bill and leg colour doesnt look too bad for a juvenile

[psweet]

I don't know where Amar puts his photos, but here's the link to a page on Illinois Birder's Forum where he posted photos of that hybrid gull, spring and fall plumages.

http://www.ilbirds.c...g68488#msg68488

[Liam]

A Google search also comes up with some nice photos: http://bit.ly/POeqzb

[Grandpa577]

That bill looks very small for a Ring-billed Gull. More importantly, if this picture was taken this month and this is a two year gull (which it probably is based on its size compared to the Herring Gulls) it should have extensive gray on the mantle. It is not a juvenile because there would be no gray at all present for any of the two year gulls. Whatever species it is it looks more like an early first winter than anything 'summer'.

Also, Ebird does have reports of Mew Gulls in Michigan. I wonder if it weren't more likely that the Common Gull/Mew Gull of Europe didn't show up east of the Rockies more frequently than the West Coast Mew Gull.

[psweet]

Grandpa -- take another look at first-winter Ring-billed. They develop a mostly gray back as soon as they molt out of juvenile plumage in late summer.
However, after taking a look at Common Gull, that's an intriguing possibility. I rather suspect that Michigan is too far west for Common to be more likely than Mew, but this bird certainly has possibilities in that direction. If it sticks around, it would probably be a good idea to keep getting photos and see how the molt develops.

[GreatHorn]

Haha, I can drive up there right now and search for it among the 5,000+ Ring-billeds. eBird has one sighting for Mew Gull in Michigan, it was on the other side of the state in May 2011, so this would be the second individual bird reported in Michigan.

Thanks for the feeback BTW

[GreatHorn]

I should add that the blog said it was smaller than the Herrings and Ring-billeds there. That can be difficult to judge, but Mews are a bit smaller than RBGs, aren't they?
That said, I do see RBGs with smaller-looking bills around here. Not sure if this is a good example, but here's one of mine from not too long ago.

[Grandpa577]

Grandpa -- take another look at first-winter Ring-billed. They develop a mostly gray back as soon as they molt out of juvenile plumage in late summer.
However, after taking a look at Common Gull, that's an intriguing possibility. I rather suspect that Michigan is too far west for Common to be more likely than Mew, but this bird certainly has possibilities in that direction. If it sticks around, it would probably be a good idea to keep getting photos and see how the molt develops.

But my understanding is "Muskegon, Michigan.... about a week ago" a bit late for a first winter bird.

This is a juvey I got a pic of last week


Ring-billed_Gull_0880o by Grandpa577, on Flickr

While the bird above could be a month old, I can't imagine this bird looking like the one above in 30 days.

[GreatHorn]

But my understanding is "Muskegon, Michigan.... about a week ago" a bit late for a first winter bird.
While the bird above could be a month old, I can't imagine this bird looking like the one above in 30 days.

Just figured out it was August 23, not that it makes a huge difference.

Oh, and nice picture there Grandpa

[psweet]

There's no way that that bird's either a Common or a Ring-billed in first summer plumage -- not with all that brown still in the back. And there's no way it's a four-year gull -- there's nothing with a bill like that that takes that long to mature. So this has to be a bird molting out it's juvenile plumage into first winter plumage -- which means it hatched fairly early in the season. (I imagine that's a strike against it being Common -- not a whole lot of time for it to have wandered over here.)