Back in the days a herring gull was a herring gull. Not anymore! Our visit to southern Norway this spring gave the opportunity to study closely some of the rarer species in the country.

An adult yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis) has settled in inland Hamar, where it seems to have paired up with a lesser black-backed gull. The bird shoved all the characters: yellow legs, deep red eye ring and classical wing pattern.

In Mandal we visited an old acquaintance, the American herring gull (Larus smithsonianus), no in its second plumage (3.cy).

In Stjørdal we got an excellent view of a first plumage (2.cy) Caspian gull (Larus cachinnans). It stood out quite clearly from the herring gulls by its white head, neck and breast and light underwings.

The Caspian gull was even seen side by side with a first plumage «viking gull», a hybrid herring X glaucous gull.

The «viking gull»