Last Friday a few Herring Gulls were briefly on the prom at Aberystwyth, by the castle, and one had noticeably pale yellow legs.
However, it was an adult bird and the Yellow-legged Gulls which I see when visiting my daughter who lives beside Lake Geneva, have much brighter coloured legs, a slightly darker mantle and a more noticeable red eye-ring than Herring Gulls. This bird lacked those features.
Looking through the books, there is mention of sub-species of Herring Gull, Larus argentatus omissus, which has pale yellow legs, but a darker mantle. ( It breeds in Scandinavia east to the White Sea and winters south to northern Spain.)
My thoughts are that the Aberystwyth bird may be one with aberrant leg colour.Looking through the books, there is mention of sub-species of Herring Gull, Larus argentatus omissus, which has pale yellow legs, but a darker mantle. ( It breeds in Scandinavia east to the White Sea and winters south to northern Spain.)
It does mean that any reports of Yellow-legged Gulls in the area need to be viewed with great care.
Thoughts and suggestions would be much appreciated.