Gull Watching: Ring-billed Gull

Adult Ring-billed Gull, Lake Merit, Oakland, CA, November 2011. Note relatively small, yellow, tapered bill with black ring and lacking red gonydeal spot, dark orbital ring, pale iris, finely streaked head and nape.

First cycle Ring-billed Gull, Berkley, CA, February 2006.  Note relatively small, pink, tapered bill (yet stouter than Mew Gull) with black tip, dark iris, pink legs.  This bird is fairly typical, but also note retained juvenal upper wing coverts, distinct streaking on white head, and short to medium wing projection (shorter than California Gull).

Adult Ring-billed Gull (right) with Glaucous-winged Gull (left), Lake Merit, Oakland, CA, November 2011.  Note small size, yellow legs (brighter than adult California), small yellow bill with black band, pale gray mantle, distinct streaks on head and nape, short-medium wing projection.

By Lukas Musher