Herring Gull x Glaucous Gull

Herring Gull x Glaucous Gull hybrid, Oulton Broad (Suffolk, UK), January 2013 - copyright Andrew Easton

(photo ID: 2598)

We already have a page for American Herring Gull x Glaucous Gull so good now to have some photos of birds from the other side of the Pond.  This first bird looks like it had a long pale-based bill recalling Glaucous Gull and seems to be a lot bigger than the accompanying Herring Gull.

Herring Gull x Glaucous Gull hybrid (same bird as in photo ID 2598 above; behind Herring Gull), Oulton Broad (Suffolk, UK), January 2013 - copyright Andrew Easton

(photo ID: 2599)

The next bird looks subtler to me, though of course I didn't see it in the field.

Herring Gull x Glaucous Gull hybrid, Carlton Colville (Suffolk, UK), December 2015 - copyright Andrew Easton

(photo IDs: 2600-2601)

Personally I find some of the less obvious examples of this hybrid (assuming they are correctly identified) rather tricky to separate from pale Herring Gulls, especially those with bleached primaries.  We would welcome discussion on this point - how do you distinguish them?

This one is a scan from an old print...

Herring Gull x Glaucous Gull hybrid, Coppermill Filter Beds, Walthamstow (London, UK), late 1990s - copyright David Darrell-Lambert

(photo ID: 2602)

Herring Gull Larus argentatus
Glaucous Gull Larus hyperboreus