A Peculiarity of Plumage in Some Specimens of the Heermann Gull
A Peculiarity of Plumage in Some Specimens of the Heermann Gull
There are in the collection of the writer five specimens of Heermann Gull (Larus heermanni) in which the majority, or all, of the primary coverts are white (as shown in fig. 21). There is also a similar specimen in the collection of L. E. Wyman; and in the Museum of History, Science and Art, Los Angeles, is a bird having two white feathers in the primary coverts of one wing, the other wing being normal in coloration.
The above specimens were all taken along the Los Angeles County coast in winter. They are all adult birds, five of them being in fall plumage with grayish head, and the other in spring plumage with white head. Five of the six specimens are females. The comparative uniformity of marking in so many specimens would seem to indicate something more than a freak of albinism. For this reason the case seems worthy of record.
