What Bird Is That Forum

I saw this Gull years ago along the Jersey shore. I originally posted it on Flickr & iNaturalist with an ID of Iceland Gull mainly based on the red orbital ring. Had several people tell me it was actually a Glaucous mainly based on the fact that it was huge compared to the Ring-billed in the foreground so I changed the ID, Now all these years later people on INaturalist saying that it is in fact an Iceland. I'm including another picture of a different juvenile Iceland also standing with a Ring-billed & they appear almost identical as far as size goes. Are adult Iceland really that much bigger then the juveniles & Ring-billed?? I remember thinking at the time that it wasn't much smaller then a Great Black-backed.

On the old site the topic of apparent bird size in photos was discussed several times. I've had lots of examples such as a much more distant bird of the same species appearing to be much larger than a close one.
However I don't think this one qualifies. I would have said Glaucous based on size (especially if that was your impression at the time), iris and orbital ring are fine and the gape appears to be yellow.
Were any reasons given on iNat for the Iceland ID?

Hooded Robin wrote: Thu Sep 03, 2026 2:57 pm On the old site the topic of apparent bird size in photos was discussed several times. I've had lots of examples such as a much more distant bird of the same species appearing to be much larger than a close one.
However I don't think this one qualifies. I would have said Glaucous based on size (especially if that was your impression at the time), iris and orbital ring are fine and the gape appears to be yellow.
Were any reasons given on iNat for the Iceland ID?

Just one person posted reasoning in support of the Iceland ID. The others left an ID but no comment. This is what the comment said;

" Larus glaucoides glaucoides- Iceland Gull (Iceland). Larus glaucoides ssp. glaucoides
glaucoides Iceland Gull -- Small, stout head with tiny dainty bill. Much rarer in the
area than Glaucous. Nice find!"

I had originally said Iceland too mainly based on the color of the orbital ring but upon further review I see Glaucous can also be red. I changed it when the big size disparity was pointed out to me. Also, I had never seen adult Glaucous before this so my first impulse was Iceland. You are right though, the size difference in the picture is real & not a photographic artifact. These birds were no more then 6 feet apart. In my opinion the head doesn't appear small though & the bill i wouldn't really call dainty either. They also said that Iceland is rarer in the area than Glaucous which is simply not true. Most years we get very few Glaucous & adults are rarer still. I wasn't aware of the difference in the gape coloring either so I think I'll agree with you & keep it as Glaucous. Thanks very much for the help!!

No gull expert but I’d go GLGU

The one thing I noticed with your bird is the somewhat round head, like the example you added, which is more typical of Kumlien's. However, after looking at photos in Macaulay it is not uncommon at all for Glaucous.
Disclaimer - I am just a casual birder and far from an expert, especially with gulls.