ComingsBirds.com/PacificCoast

To the Beauty of Birds

The Western Gull Larus occidentialis was the most common gull on the Oregon Pacific Coast. Photo 1571 shows all the features of the Western Gull – the yellow bill with a red spot at the tip of the mandible, the white head, black wings and pink feet. What a difference the sun makes! The next photo 7914 in the absence of the sun is less striking, especially the feet. Photo 8626 well illustrates the white tips of the primary and secondary feathers. Photos of the gulls in flight show the black wing tips.

The three close-ups show the red-brown ring around the eye and the red dot on the beak.

The remaining five photos are of the 1st year immature Western Gulls. The beak is an ugly blackish yellow that looks like it was dropped into the campfire. The tops of the primary and secondary feathers are dark brown, and breast feathers are grayish. In flight the tip of the tail is black with white closer to the body.

Western Gull