White-eyed Gull

The White-eyed Gull Ichthyaetus leucophthalmus is a small gull slightly larger than the Laughing Gull. Its slim silhouette, its long beak, its body held horizontally on rather long legs and its long wings pointing backwards, as well as its plumage, are all characteristic.
The adult in nuptial plumage has a total black hood that covers its whole head, extending down the neck and continuing into a black ruffle on the throat and front of the neck. Two white peri-ocular crescents encircle the eye both above and below, providing a strong contrast to the black hood. This gives the bird its French name, although its iris is actually a dark brown colour, with a red orbital circle. The upperparts (mantle, back and wing-coverts) are a quite dark grey. The tail and its coverts are white. The primaries are black, standing out in stark contrast against the white tail which they vastly overhang. The underside is white, with a pale grey wash on the lower throat and sides of the chest. The beak is strikingly long, being about the same length as the head, and a red-coral colour with a black tip. The legs are yellow. In winter, the bare parts are duller and the hood not so pure black.
In flight, the long wings appear dark above and below, showing a white trailing edge. From below, they stand out in bold contrast from the white body.
The juvenile plumage is very different to the adult as is typical in the family. The upperparts are entirely brown, lighter on the head and darker on the remiges. The white eye-crescents are present, but less obvious than in the adult. The underside is whitish. The tail is black, while the rump and uppertail-coverts are partly white. The beak is dark and the legs yellowish.Once they reach three years of age, adults will have acquired their full plumage, with immature birds having a plumage which is somewhere between the two. The White-eyed Gull can easily be confused with the Hemprich's Gull which shares its territory, especially in the immature plumage. The Hemprich's Gull is a slightly larger bird. When in adult plumage, the White-eyed Gull is a darker brown-grey on its upper half, with this shade stretching across its chest, but it does not possess a black hood. Its beak, which is thicker and shorter, is yellow with a red and black tip. The immature bird has beige-edged wing coverts, a two-tone beak (red-brown to blue-grey with a black tip) and grey feet.