Black-headed Gull vs Brown-hooded Gull

Black-headed Gull

Chroicocephalus ridibundus

Medium283 gCoastal

This gull is 34–39 cm (13+1⁄2–15+1⁄2 in) long with a 100–110 cm (39+1⁄2–43+1⁄2 in) wingspan and weighs 166–400 g (5+7⁄8–14+1⁄8 oz); males (186–400 g) average heavier than females (166–350 g), but with considerable overlap. In flight, the white leading edge of the outer wing (the outer primaries) is a good field mark, particularly combined with the dark underside of the inner primaries, which distinguishes it from the white underside of those feathers in its close relative the Bonaparte's gull.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recorded by Sonothèque ADVL · Aberrant, flight call · Vains, Manche, Normandy, France · CC0

Photo: Diliff · CC BY 2.5

Brown-hooded Gull

Chroicocephalus maculipennis

339 gWetland

Adults in the breeding season have a dark brown head and throat with a white semicircle around the posterior of the eye, while the neck, chest and abdomen are white. In winter plumage, the brown hood is largely lost, retaining just a dark spot behind the eye and a dark smudge around the eye. The beak and legs are red, and the eye is dark brown. The outer primary flight feathers are white with black tips (the 'spots' of the scientific name) above and showing more extensively black from below, while the inner primaries and the secondaries and covert feathers are a silvery grey.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Jorge Chávez · CC BY 3.0

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Black-headed Gull and Brown-hooded Gull.