fneil

Photograph today at NSW.  Is it a Glaucous?
Neil

Nam Sang Wai,
Hong Kong,
China.
09/01/09

Nikon D3 plus Nikon 500/4 VR lens and Nikon 1.4x tele

HFCheung

No, I don't think so.  Glaucous Gull has a sharp two-tone bill, and a more uniformly white body.

HF Cheung

lpaul

1st winter Slaty-backed Gull.  Nice pic.

John Holmes

2009-02-10  Nam Sang Wai  (The same individual posted here by Neil, I think, and ID'd by Paul)
ID MKIIN + 800mm

ajohn

I'm still very bad at gulls - especially first year birds.
What features make this Slaty-backed rather than Heuglin's?

Beetle

i also become mad identifying gulls, but i learnt following from ar tung some time before:
1st-winter Slaty-backed Gulls have very obvious dark patch around the eyes (which is very easy to see at a distance), and a very dark bill.
I couldn't see these from the above photos.

cgeoff

The following features identify this bird: largely dark tail, lack of pale inner primary window, brownish belly contrasting with rather pale head (valid late in winter), relatively short, rather liver-pink coloured legs and rather compact structure.

It's a rather small, lightly-built individual, so I would guess it's a female.

Geoff

lpaul

I also find the very dark underwing coverts contrasting with rather pale and uniform undersaide to the primaries and secondaries another good SBGull feature.  The bill is usually all dark or predominantly dark in SBGull.