Strong winds over the weekend has led to large numbers of gulls sheltering in Maltese harbors. I have not yet had a chance to visit the larger gull roosts but St.Paul's Bay has small numbers early in the mornings. Today I took the opportunity to take some photos (in some very overcast conditions) of three members of the Laridae family roosting together.
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| Black-headed Gull Chroicocephalus ridibundus, Mediterranean Gull Larus melanocephalus and Sandwich Tern Sterna sandvicensis. Xemxija, Malta. January 2016 |
By far the most common gull at this time of year is the Black-headed Gull. A non-breeding visitor to Malta like the other two species in the photo, flocks of over 200 birds can be found in sheltered bays around the island. Referred to as a 'two-year' gull, the Black-headed Gull takes two years to reach adult plumage. A 1st-winter individual can be seen on the rightmost end of the metal beam, whilst the others are winter plumage adults with varying amounts of black (actually a chocolate brown) on their heads. The single Mediterranean Gull in the photo is the left-most bird on the same beam, again a 1st-winter individual, although this slightly larger species has three age classes. The Sandwich Tern, a winter plumage adult, is the back-centre bird.
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| Mediterranean and Black-headed Gulls. Xemxija, Malta. January 2016. |
This angle clearly shows the difference in structure between the two smaller gull species. The Mediterranean Gull on the left is longer legged and slightly larger than the Black-headed Gull next to it, with a less rounded head and a stouter bill. This group had individuals representing all the age classes of both species but an opportunity to photograph them decently did not arise. Notice the variation between the two 1s-winter Mediterranean Gulls due to moult timing.
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