Pictures by Ray Tipper - More about Ray...
One of the two large gull species that are common in the Algarve, the Lesser Black-backed Gull is a non-breeding visitor and, by mid-winter, out-numbers the resident Yellow-legged Gull by a substantial margin. Adults, with their obvious black backs are easily identified but immatures with their speckled and blotched brownish plumage are a challenge to separate from young Yellow-legged Gulls. To complicate matters further, large gulls take between 2½ and four years to reach adult plumage, which is attained by way of two moults per year each of which produces a different plumage pattern.
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