Monday 17 January 2011

Common Gull (Larus canus) with "retarded" first winter moult

This 1st winter Common Gull was seen in Aarhus Harbor on January 11, 2011. The largely retained juvenile plumage is surprising seen from a Danish point of view as we mostly see individuals that have completed their first winter moult by January. Such “retarded” individuals either belong to northern late breeding populations or they might be eastern ssp. heinei.

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