Help with a gull

Need help identifying a bird? Please post your question here and if possible include a photo. Also let us know where and when you saw the bird. Other things that help are listing any field marks that stood out, behavioral information like how it walked, hopped or flew. This Forum is just for North American birds.
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Sbruenjes
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Help with a gull

Post by Sbruenjes »

I saw this gull today at Sandy Hook Beach in Monmouth, NJ. The lack of black wing tips is confusing me. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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Aidan B
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Re: Help with a gull

Post by Aidan B »

Pretty sure it's a Herring
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Hooded Robin
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Re: Help with a gull

Post by Hooded Robin »

Aidan B wrote: Wed Feb 04, 2026 10:59 pm Pretty sure it's a Herring
Can Iceland (Thayer's) be discounted?
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AveryF
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Re: Help with a gull

Post by AveryF »

Hooded Robin wrote: Wed Feb 04, 2026 11:38 pm
Aidan B wrote: Wed Feb 04, 2026 10:59 pm Pretty sure it's a Herring
Can Iceland (Thayer's) be discounted?
Here’s my take, and I could be totally off base.
The bird is in its second cycle (replaced mantle feathers while retaining immature body feathers), which explains the lack of adult primaries, and in comparing Thayer’s and Am Herring, the tail is different between the two. Am Herring has fairly dark rectrices, and a mostly white rump/UpTC, while Thayer’s shows lighter brown rectrices and a fairly smudgy rump/UnTC. The bill also is fairly bulbous, something I have yet to really see on any Iceland.
Life - 669: Willow Ptarmigan, Black-billed Magpie, Cassin’s Finch
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