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Heuglin's and Pallas's Gull

Mick Davies & Dowroong Danlamajak

13th Mekong Chiang Saen: Heuglin's gull 1 juv, Pallas's Gull 3 1st winters. I got a closer look at the birds today and the features of 1st winter Pallas's Gull are visible but faint. Maybe in strong sunlight and given that the birds are quite distant added to the confusion or maybe they are still moulting and these features becoming stronger as time goes by.

12th More on the Gulls. Range about 300 meters, very good light, no haze, but to distant to get clear detail. There is only one juv (mistake on my part) and is a Heuglin's Gull. This bird appears very streaked on the upper and lower breast and fairly dark. The coverts, all rows are uniform brown with a dark long central streak. The tail band is blackish and washed out and looks more greyish on the underside. The under wing is greyish. The bill is all black and the legs are pink.

I had a good look at two of the three Ist winters ?. The mantle is mostly grey with some ffs showing vaguely large hart shaped spots. Coverts, I'll deal with in 5 rows and starting with the smaller: 1 and 2 the ffs are pale brownish with darker rounded centers, rows 3 and 4 appear plain and paler grey/brown, row 5 or tertials are similar to 3/4 but the outers appear darker brown than the inner's that are more greyish.

Wings and Tail, The upper wing shows definite dark blackish secondary bar and pps. The coverts are contrasted paler and there appears to be a paler sub panel but I've not see it to clearly. The under wing is pure white and only the pps wing tips are narrowly black and broadest at the center. the tail terminal band is strongly black with a slight gloss and is distinct on upper and underside.

Head and Breast and all under's. pure white except for some light brown blotching that extends behind the eye and over the hind crown and nape, neck and bordering the wing bend. but not onto the breast. I have to have another look at the eye.

Bill is pink and tipped black 30%, and is fairly broad and heavy, compared with the smaller gull, legs pink.

Structure: These appear to be big gulls, heavy in flight and long wings. The forehead has a shallow slope and the head dose not appear rounded. On balance I believe they are possibly Mongolian as the covert pattern is variable. Also from what I was told, the tail band is more clearly defined in Mongolian. I have no idea as to size difference between Heuglin's and Mongolian, Mongolian shown below appear to be large gulls.

The head shape also seems good although some heuglin pics have a similar shape. The bill is very similar to this photo I borrowed from; www.harrisbirds.com and in fact all three gulls are similar to this bird . I think one can rule out Vega as bill looks wrong and from the few pictures I've seen.

I spoke to Phil Round this evening re these Gulls, his comment was they look like Gt Black headed, and he may well be right, I did consider that, and they are huge. However I am puzzled as to what I find on the internet, with regard to Ist winters Gt Black-heads. Here is the best I can find.

Pallas's Gull - Pic's 1-5 , These are all labeled as Ist winters, except 5?. The Birds at Chiang Saen do not show some of these markings. 2-5; pale inner primary wedge, upper or underwing. 2; grey central panel (greater coverts) contrast with light brown forewing and dark secondary bar, 2-3 show a double dark bar ?. The underwing also differ from the CS bird. 1; The juv's outer coverts do resemble the mekong birds, however this is the only similarity to these first winters. I have seen quite a few Gt B Hd Gulls but never this young. I was going to delete this page to cover my possible embarrassment, but there seem to be some points of interest here so I leave it on as Gull species???.

10th Mekong Chiang Saen: I originally identified these as Heuglin's, as the first two that arrived were in juv plumage. There are now four and two of the four are larger and more advanced and appear to be first winters. These pics by Dowroong have not been altered, they are as they came out of the camera. Just cropped.

Pic's 1-4; 1 and 4 is the same individual, 2-3 are the same bird. We rarely see big gulls up here, the most regular is Pallas's Gull. the sitting bird is a juv Heuglin's.

10th Chiang Saen area; a few common birds; Rufous W'pecker. Blue-bearded bee-eater, Crimson Sunbird, Two barred Greenish Warbler, Y B Warbler, rufesent Prinia, Plain Prinia, Rock Thrush, Hainan Blue Fly',

River Lapwing 13, Heuglin's Gull 4, Spt Reds 40.

9th Chiang Saen area; Heuglin's Gull 1, Yellow-streaked Warbler, Brown-throated Sunbird, Large Hawk Cuckoo. Peregrine (imm male)

8th Mekong; Heuglin's Gull 2 1st winters. Peregrine (adult female). Yonok Black Kite.