Has anybody heard of a study of Ring-billed Gulls that involves coloring or dyeing the birds? Here is what I read on another site: "I observed apurple Ring-Billed Gull below the Alum Creek Dam (southern Delaware County) this morning. It looked like it had been dipped in grape juice and I would say that 90 to 95 percent of the gull was purple" Since it's not April 1, I wondered if anyone else had seen similar gulls or knew of a research study that would explain this sighting. The other option, I suppose, would be a bird that got into something that colored its feathers. Kathi Hutton ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]