Herring Gull Photo Index

Herring Gull Larus argentatus Northern argentatus with extensive white in primaries

Photo Gallery Index

Staffs, December 2003

Warks, January 2010

© A. R. Dean

Nominate race Herring Gulls from northern Scandinavia display more extensive white in the primaries and a proportion have white on the inner web of p9 and/or p10 conjoined with the white mirror near the tip - the so-called 'thayeri-pattern'.. Occasionally, individuals are encountered with such extensive white that a hybrid origin  (with Glaucous Gull) might be suspected. However, when the remaining characters - including a relatively dark shade of grey to the mantle - are fully compatible with argentatus, then individual variation seems a more likely explanation.  Two such individuals are illustrated in the photos here.