Bonaparte's Gull

Chroicocephalus philadelphia

Rare & annual vagrants from North America with 300 records for Britain & 100 for Ireland in all months, mostly in the Autumn.

Winters south to Mexico.

Breeding Adults have a slaty black hood, which it loses in non-breeding plumage.

Its short, thin bill is black, and its legs are pinkish-red in winter, orangish-red in summer.

1st Winters are more like the Adults with a grey back, but retain a brown bar across the forewing, blackish tips to the secondary feathers, and a black tip to the tail; they have the same plumage in winter and the following summer, but the Summer plumage is paler due to wear and fading.