tags: Thayer's Gull, Larus thayeri, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Thayer's Gull, Larus thayeri, photographed on the Pacific coastline of San Francisco, California. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Terry Sohl, 18 December 2008 [larger view]
Photo taken with a Canon 50D, 400 5.6L.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
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Hm. Interesting. The bill and head shape looks a lot like a mew gull to me, though the eye color and mantle are too light. Except for the primaries on this bird being too dark, this looks a lot like the third-winter Iceland gull in Sibley. Reading the description in Sibley, I guess Thayer's gull is a possibility, too.
Maybe a mew/Thayer's or mew/Iceland hybrid?