Featheredfriday at the beach

Been too long since my last #featheredfriday post; and since I got to do some birdwatching on my recent vacations, here it is, straight from the beach!

And in Portugal at least, beach means also seagulls. And you've probably seen quite a few different species already, since some of them look quite similar; especially if they are juveniles.

Some characteristics do help in distinguishing the different species when they are adults, such as size, colour pattern on the back and wings, and the colour of the beak and legs. And it gets easier with practice. A lot easier, is to distinguish juveniles from adults, even without any experience. And how?

Adults have smooth colour patterns, while juveniles have several degrees of spots and stripes; so, on the image above, we have two adults and a juvenile. See? Easy! 🙂

Now, depending on the seagull species, the adult plummage can take up to three years to complete! Normally on the smaller species, they obtain the adult colour after one year; intermediate size seagulls two years, and the larger species, only three years after their birth. And each year, the plummage resembles the adult form more.

As for this particular species, I do believe it's the yellow legged seagull, Larus michahellis, common in our coastline, but very similar to a couple species more. Whatever species it is... they were great models for my beach walk!

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