Yellow-legged Gull

Two 1st winter Yellow-legged Gulls, Milton, 4th Dec 2006, © Dick Newell
Assuming that I have identified the second bird correctly, these two birds show just how variable Yellow-legged Gulls can be. The first bird is classic, easy and obvious. The second could easily be a Herring Gull, except that it shows shadow behind the eye, dark unpatterned greater coverts, a long primary projection, and good contrast between the scapulars and the wing-coverts. One could speculate that the upper bird is from the Mediterranean and the lower from Portugal - or I have got it horribly wrong! (RGN)