As previously reported by Doreene Linzell, Dan Sanders, Bill Kinkead Doreene and I (Jay Lehman) saw a juvenile plumage Laughing Gull this afternoon along the causeway at Mosquito Lake This post addresses the field marks seen to make it a Laughing Gull and not a Franklin's Gull. I have used the following references: Gulls of North America, Europe and Asia-K. M. Olsen and H. Larsson; Gulls a guide to identification-P. J. Grant; The Sibley Guide to Birds-D.A. Sibley and National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America-J. L. Dunn and J. Alderferer. The head, neck breast and much of the belly of this bird were brown with some white mottling and the white mottling becomes more apparent and overwhelms the brown in bright sunshine and with back-lighting; there was no dark hood. A Franklin's Gull in this plumage should have a hood, brown or blackish depending on age, with a distinctive white forehead with only a much smaller amount of brown or brownish wash along the sides of the breast with the rest of the underparts white. There were no distinctive white tips of the primaries on the folded wings; if there was any white on the tips it was very hard to see; thus,the primaries appeared completely black on the folded wings and in flight. Franklin's Gulls even in juvenile plumage have much more distinct white tips on the primaries when the wings are folded and in flight. There was a broad black band on the tail, so wide that the tail feathers appeared to be almost or totally black above (only surface seen) from edge to edge and with a narrow terminal white band proved by white tips to tail feathers. I have flight photos of the tail in flight showing no white edges to the black band. Franklin's Gull has a narrower black band on the tail and white tail edges on the sides of the black band such that the black band is surrounded by white even in juvenile plumage. This gull was very long-legged relative to the Ring-billed Gulls. Franklin's Gull has shorter legs which would be very apparent next to Ring-billed Gulls. There were narrow white eye arcs. Franklin's Gull has thicker more distinctive eye arcs accentuated by the hood. The under surface of the wings are quite dark with a broad dark brown bar that starts in the carpal area (giving the impression of dark arm pits), and extends up the wing undersurface. Franklin's Gull has black on the primaries on the underwing but the rest of the underwing surface is very white. The upper wing coverts are strongly mottled with buffy feather edges. Franklin's Gull in this plumage is not as distinctly mottled and with whiter feather edges. The head was very angular in shape with a gradually sloping forehead to the bill. Franklin's Gull has a more rounded head and crown with a more steeply sloped forehead to the bill. These differences can be hard to judge on a single bird. The bill was relatively thick and relatively long, long enough that base to tip is longer than the distance from the bill base to back of the eye; bill has apparent downward curvature or hooked appearance. Franklin's Gull has a shorter and more dainty bill with less curvature. These differences can be hard to judge on a single bird. We spent quite a while studying this bird and consulting Sibley and National Geographic field guides. Dan and I had never before seen a juvenile plumage Laughing Gull in Ohio When I post my photos, I will announce where they are posted. Jay Jay G Lehman, Cincinnati, OH Sent from Droid Razr ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Please consider joining our Society, at www.ohiobirds.org/site/membership.php. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: listserv.miamioh.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]