© J. Judge

In recent years, a number of juvenile Mediterranean Gulls has appeared in the region in mid to late summer (see Mediterranean Gull text). The individual above, pictured with a 1W Black-headed Gull, is just starting to moult from juvenile to first-winter plumage - note the new grey feathers in the scapulars. At this age, structural differences from B-h Gull are less evident than in older birds, when Med Gull shows a heavier, squarer head and heavier blunter bill. Head and bill shape in the individual pictured appear little different from the Black-headed Gull but note the characteristic plumage of juvenile Med Gull: the relatively plain head, the brown upperparts with neat pale feather fringes, and the solidly dark tertials with neat whitish fringes. Also, the bill is all dark.