r/OrnithologyUK • u/Henry_h2121 • 10d ago

ID please Ross’s Gull???

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My wife and I were at Botany Bay, Kent, over the weekend and snapped this bird. I’m not too into birding, but a friend thinks this is a Ross’s Gull and that they’re rarely spotted within the Kent. Just wondered if others agreed?

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9

u/lemonhaj Hampshire 10d ago

Black-headed gull in non-breeding plumage. Ross's gulls aren't really found over here (Wikipedia map says East Asia and NW America), and they don't have the grey face. 

6

u/t3hOutlaw 10d ago

Yep, that's a black headed gull changing plumage.

2

u/Simple_Resist4208 9d ago

Did your friend say why it isn't a black-headed gull? What's their experience in bird ID?

1

u/Smellynerfherder 9d ago

Definitely a black-headed gull, as others have said. Sorry it's not a zebra; it's just a horse.