May is usually the month we begin to notice primary molt in our Herrings and Ring-billeds on southern Lake Michigan. First and second cycles generally precede older conspecifics in their prebasic molts by a month or so.
Roughly half of the 1st and 2nd cycles that I observed yesterday showed 1-3 dropped inner primaries:
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| Herring Gull (1st summer). P1-P2 dropped and hence the 2nd prebasic molt has commenced. Chicago, IL. 02 May 2015. |
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| Herring Gull (2nd summer). P1-P3 dropped and hence the 3rd prebasic molt has commenced. Chicago, IL. 02 May 2015. |