Posted by: Debra Kolkka | February 26, 2014

Spot the difference

I think seagulls are beautiful birds, they are so sleek and clean. The bird is actually called the Silver Gull and is a very successful scavenger. Humans’ bad habit of throwing rubbish about has been responsible for the growing number of seagulls.

The Silver Gull has a white head, tail and underbelly, with grey back and black-tipped wings. Adult birds have bright orange legs and eye-ring.

Occasionally I see another type of seagull. It has spots on its wings and brown legs. You can easily see the difference.

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This one very helpfully stood beside a Silver Gull so they could be compared.

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He even spread out his wing to show his spots.

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He then settled down for a little snooze.

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Maybe it is just a juvenile Silver Gull…any suggestions?


Responses

  1. Wonderful captures!

    • Thanks, the birds don’t seem to be bothered by humans…they just stand there and pose for the camera.

  2. Cooperative birds, aren’t they. Loved the photo of the sleeping gull. Such fine-feathered friends. Hope your week is going well, Debra.

    Hugs from Ecuador,
    Kathy

    • I have only seen a couple of the spotted birds…or maybe it was the same one twice.

  3. Beautiful! I saw on QI last night that seagulls are actually misnamed, because they never actually go out to sea! 🙂

    • As scavengers I suppose they are much more likely to find dead stuff on the beach.

  4. great bird watching Deb. You have us all pondering the difference between the silver grey bird and the gull with spots. Hope you find the answer for us.

    • It was mos likely a young bird.

  5. They are good looking but not so much when they pick on garbage.

    • They couldn’t do that if people didn’t leave rubbish exposed. They also clean up dead fish from the beach.

  6. I also think that the spotted one is a juvenile…

    • They are the same shape and it looked a bit smaller than the others.

  7. Yes, the spotted one is a juvenile. I have sometimes seen a juvenile gull pestering its mother for a feed. And that always looks strange, because the “chick” is almost the same size as the adult.

    • Thanks for the confirmation. I could see there were lots of similarities.

  8. I think it probably is a juvenile- and my husband said it was – so it must be right! It actually looks a little like a dove. Such perfect colours in those photos.

    • I think they are gorgeous birds.

  9. Adorable!!

    • They are beautiful birds, and fun to watch.

  10. I’m not sure they are the same bird…I notice (or maybe it’s just a trick of the light/image) that their eye colors are very different.

    • The legs and eyes were a different colour, but apparently it is a young bird.

  11. I love the snoozing gull 🙂

    • I love to watch them at the beach. Congratulations to you for the wonderful photo being included in WordPress photos around the world.

      • Thanks Debra. That was quite a surprise 🙂

      • Well deserved, your photos are wonderful.

      • 🙂


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