OHIO-BIRDS Archives

May 2012

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From:
Geoff Malosh <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Geoff Malosh <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sun, 27 May 2012 10:07:14 -0400
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Hi everyone,

I've been at the Conneaut spit since dawn and the dark-backed mystery gull
has been present the whole time, and is still present now. I've obtained
many photos including flight shots with the primaries fully exposed. The
bird has a very broad mirror on P10 and a smaller but still obvious mirror
on P9; there is a very subtle "string of pearls" on P5-7 and P8 is fully
black except at the very tip. The bird seems to be rather worn. The bird's
iris is medium-dark, not pale like Herring, and the orbital ring under a
close view is a pale yellow. As for the size, my impression at times has
been that it's ever so slightly bigger than a herring, though at other times
it appears to be about the same size as Herring (this could be due to
individual variation in nearby Herrings). It's definitely much, much smaller
than Great Black-backed. The mantle is very dark, very much like GBB.
Overall the bird does not strike me as a classic Slaty-backed and I think an
argument could be made for GBB x Herring, though I am by no means an expert
in judging the variability in Slaty-backed (I've seen <5 adults in my life).
I have plenty of photos which I'll upload to my website hopefully later
today.

Good birding,
Geoff Malosh
Pittsburgh


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