Slaty-backed Gull

64cm. A typical large gull, reminiscent of Kelp Gull but with pink legs and slaty grey back. Head white in br. plumage, streaked pale brown with darker eyepatch in non-br. plumage. Eye is pale and bill yellow with red spot near tip. Juvenile birds are heavily marked with pale brown on white, legs pink and bill dark. Breeds along the coast of ne Siberia to Alaska, migrating south to Japan and China.

Vagrant Widely recorded as a vagrant. An immature bird reported from Cooktown QLD, from 14th February to 4th April 2008. Ref. BARC.