Gulls and Terns

[Jack Dawe]

Mediterranean Gull

 

[Levina]

A gull I've never seen. He's pretty. Has the same kind of build as a black-headed gull. Bill is bigger though.

 

[Jack Dawe]

Arctic Tern

 

[Jack Dawe]

A gull I've never seen. He's pretty. Has the same kind of build as a black-headed gull. Bill is bigger though.

Yes, bill is thicker and redder. Also the grey looks cleaner, more 'silvery', in comparison. To my mind there is no smarter gull, especially when they have their jet-black heads in breeding plumage.

 

[Levina]

Yes, bill is thicker and redder. Also the grey looks cleaner, more 'silvery', in comparison. To my mind there is no smarter gull, especially when they have their jet-black heads in breeding plumage.
View attachment 1054

Hold on. I did see them! Right here, in the city. I was confused by the name "Mediterranean gull"! In Dutch this bird is called Black-headed gull (zwartkopomeeuw) whereas what in English is called a black-headed gull, in Dutch is known as kokmeeuw (I wouldn't know what the English equivalent of "kok" is). It's confusing!

And I agree, they are beautiful in their breeding plumage. Elegant and beautiful.

 

[RichardB]

I thought it was a black-headed gull (kokmeeuw). He looks just like it! How can you tell the difference?

 

[Jack Dawe]

I thought it was a black-headed gull (kokmeeuw). He looks just like it! How can you tell the difference?

Apart from the brighter, thicker bill (which looks droop-tipped), in winter plumage the Mediterranean Gull has a smudge behind the eye rather than the Black-headed Gull's spot. In breeding plumage Black-headed Gull has a chocolate-brown head, but Mediterranean Gull's head is genuinely black and that black reaches further down the hindneck. Also the adult Mediterranean Gull has pure white wing tips without any black. Mediterranean Gull's wing-tips are less pointed too.