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| July. Illinois. |
Age: The well-patterned upperparts and pointed primary tips suggest a straightforward juvenile (1st basic plumage).
Identification: Surprisingly, a number of answers this month went with California Gull, which is a very fair guess. It's doubtful that California Gull can show this much white on the primary tips, although juvenile Ring-billeds regularly do. It's difficult to appreciate size in this single still, especially with no other birds in the frame. But this was a fairly small individual feeding around other small Ring-billeds. Given the location and time of year, juvenile Ring-billed it is.