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This basic plumaged adult was found on 12/15/2007 by Bruce A. Fall of Minneapolis. Structurally,
this smaller longer winged gull appears heavy chested and longer towards the rear (caused by longer
wings, perhaps) with a smaller head and dainty bill. In flight, the dark underside of the
flight feathers (not as dark as Little Gull) and the subtle but clear wedge shape to the tail
were distinctive. The underside of the wing had contrastingly paler underwing coverts and axillaries,
and there was a strong white trailing edge to the wing. Also seen in flight is the pale gray
nape and sides of the neck, and the rosy hue to the breast and belly that is commonly seen in this
species. In the photos below, note the pinkish tinge to the underparts (not shown well here), gray upper
parts, pale gray nape and slightly darker crown, the impression of a huge dark eye (dark feathers
around the eye), dainty black bill, gray primaries with a darker black outer web to P10, the
dark gray underside of the primaries visible in the sitting bird, the prominent white tips to the
secondaries (forming a white trailing edge to the wing in flight), and the dark reddish legs. Also note
the "ear spot" behind the eye (perhaps the remnants of the black band seen in alternate plumage?).
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