Caspian Gull

3CY Caspian Gull, Long Drove, Cottenham, 2nd January 2008, © Dick Newell
Although I didn't get a decent picture of its head, the head and bill-shape were the give-aways here. The unpatterned greater coverts give another clue. This bird seems to have no 3rd generation feathers, but I am fairly sure it is a 2nd winter (3CY). Such birds are illustrated in the O&L gull book, but this plumage is more common in Herring Gulls, so it is always possible we have a mixture here. Also, it lacks the usual gleaming white head, though it does show the characteristic shadow-line across the nape. The adult bird immediately beyond it is a Yellow-legged Gull (RGN).