View allAll Photos Tagged Question,
The aptly named Got A Question before the sixth race at Santa Anita Park racetrack in Arcadia, California, U.S.A. (Jan. 7, 2009)
One of 7124 pubs?
Member of a Kommanditgesellschaft?
When was it abandoned?
How does it look like inside?
I could not find any people, who would have answered my questions.
But I had a feeling of seeing a kind of lost history ...
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kommanditgesellschaft_(Deutschland)
River AC, free ice cream, and star gazing were just a few of the exciting parts of day two of the Missouri River Academy!
We began the day on the river. Due to mechanical issues in one of our boats, students rotated between an On the Land station and a river cruise. Everyone was super flexible with this last-minute schedule change. Both boats are back up and running and ready for tomorrow! We broke out the blue trash bags and did a river clean up, Missouri River Relief style! Students picked up trash and also looked for their own trash treasure, which they used for their action projects later in the day when they learned about systems modeling.
After lunch students traded trash bags for helmets and did a 7-mile bike ride on the Katy Trail. Along the way the students stopped at Peer’s Store, where free ice cream awaited them, and went on a prairie hike!
After spending all day in the sun, nothing beats cooling off in the pool, which is what most students did during Community Time. The Olympic competition is fierce this year! The Pride is currently in the lead, gaining most of their points by asking awesome questions to our presenters.
In the evening the students explored a stream near Camp Trinity. They used clear cups to catch and observe different animals - this hands-on experience was definitely a highlight.
When night fell, the students gazed at the stars. They had fun finding different constellations and got to see Mercury, Jupiter’s moons, and Saturn’s rings through telescopes. Ending day two with this activity was simply stellar.
We’re waking up early tomorrow morning to go birding! Can’t wait!
Photo by Claire Hassler
a passage from when alice meets the caterpillar and talks to it of becoming a a chrysallis. another popup from the 'children' series
Cops & Barbers held a Rap Session at Unlimited Cuts on May 20, 2022.
Rap Sessions are informal events designed to provide opportunities for citizens to ask questions and interact with police officers in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.
The Cops & Barbers initiative began in 2017, and is focused on improving the relationship between police and the public. The Cops & Barbers program and numerous participating barbers hold several community events throughout the year, including free back-to-school haircuts, backpacks, and school supplies, free Thanksgiving turkeys for families in need, free haircuts for students at area public schools, and question & answer sessions at local barbershops.
Depeche Mode - Personal Jesus (The Stargate Mix)
Depeche Mode are an English electronic band that formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group consists of founders Dave Gahan (lead vocals, occasional songwriter since 2005), Martin Gore (guitar, keyboards, vocals, main songwriter since 1982), and Andy Fletcher (keyboards, bass guitar). Depeche Mode released their debut album Speak & Spell in 1981, bringing the band onto the British new wave scene. Original band member Vince Clarke (keyboards, guitar, main songwriter from 1980 to 1981), left the band after the release of the album, leaving the band as a trio to record A Broken Frame, released the following year. Gore took over the lead songwriting duties and, later in 1982, Alan Wilder (keyboards, drums, bass guitar, occasional songwriter) officially joined the band to fill Clarke's spot, establishing a line up that would continue for the next 13 years. Depeche Mode have been a trio again since 1995, when Wilder left.
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My Super Mario Brothers Question Mark lantern lit by internal tea light.
A large number of people attempted to punch it for power-ups.
A big question mark made by stacking various jigsaw puzzle pieces and then making them take that specific shape. The pieces are scrambled and on both sides against a white background.
Addison, A. (editor). "The Children's Book of Questions & Answers". London: Berkeley Publishers Limited, 1974.
Photograph by Barnaby's Picture Library.
Bradbury Science Museum
Semipalatinsk Test Site
Trinity Site
Johnnie Boy Test, Nevada Test Site
One question leads to another
Hermes wondered if fused material like trinitite had been created during the Soviet Union's first nuclear test, Joe-1, in 1949.
It had. The sample Hermes obtained from the site of that test differed externally from trinitite, but he expected its radiological signature to be the same. The Joe-1 device was an exact duplicate of the Trinity Site device.
Yet gamma-ray spectroscopy showed radiological differences between the fused soil from the original American and Soviet test sites. Why?
Mystery solved
Upon inquiry, Hermes learned that the Soviets' original Ground Zero had been used a second time. The sample of fused material was a mixture of soil that had been remelted and remixed with debris from the second test.
The story doesn't end here
In science, the questions never end. Understanding how trinitite was formed is only a step towards understanding what went on inside the radioactive cloud created during the Trinity test. Many more questions remain to be answered. That's the challenge of science!
Day 122
1 - 8 of the 48 Questions
1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
I was named after a soap opera character. What was my mother thinking?!
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
A few weeks ago, I'm sure
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
I've heard that teachers have the best handwriting out of any profession, and people always complement my handwriting, but I don't think it's anything special.
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
Oooh definitely roast beef. On sourdough. With havarti cheese. It's definitely past lunch time.
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
No. People ask constantly. My mother finally got tired of people asking her when we were going to have kids, that she started telling people that we "are enjoying practicing" and that "she'll keep them posted." Oy vey.
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
Probably. Most of my friends have similar personalities.
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?
Me? No. Never. (Now I'm rolling my eyes)
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
Sure do. No wisdom teeth though!
Clergy and volunteers from the Roman Catholic and Church of Ireland Cathedrals in Armagh welcomed the opportunity to meet with the Minister of State for Northern Ireland, Steve Baker MP, on Monday (14th November). As part of an official visit by the Minister to the city, he saw both Cathedrals and met with local representatives, including the Church of Ireland Archbishop John McDowell, Dean Shane Forster and the Very Revd Peter McAnenly (Administrator of St Patrick’s Roman Catholic Cathedral).
The visit started at the Roman Catholic Cathedral where Minister Baker met with clergy, members of the Cathedrals’ Partnership, and others involved with local churches and the community. In a wide–ranging question and answer session, the Minister addressed many current political issues and also was interested to find out more about ecumenical relations and cross–community work.
The Minister then travelled the short distance across the city to visit Armagh Robinson Library and St Patrick’s Church of Ireland Cathedral, and was welcomed by Dean Forster, who also holds the office of Keeper of Armagh Robinson Library, and Archbishop McDowell in the Cathedral.
Zach Gilford participating in a question and answer session with Sheila Bolda after the screening of 'The River Wye' during the 2010 Savannah Film Festival.
Photo by Kate Szrom/Courtesy of Portland Center Stage at The Armory.
Based on the book by Cheryl Strayed
Adapted by Nia Vardalos
Co-conceived by Marshall Heyman,
Thomas Kail and Nia Vardalos
Directed by Rose Riordan
Scenic Designer Megan Wilkerson
Costume Designer Jacqueline Firkins
Sound Designer Casi Pacilio
Lighting Designer Kristeen Crosser
Stage Manager Janine Vanderhoff
Production Assistant Sarah Stark
February 23 — March 31, 2019
On the U.S. Bank Main Stage
Previews Feb. 23–28 | Opening night Mar. 1
A celebration of the simple beauty of being human, this funny and deeply touching exploration of resilience is based on Cheryl Strayed’s (Wild) journey as the beloved anonymous advice columnist for “Dear Sugar.” Over the years, thousands of people turned to Sugar for words of wisdom, compassion and hope. At first unsure of herself, Sugar found a way to weave her own life experiences together with the deep yearning and heartrending questions from her readers. Brilliantly adapted for the stage by Nia Vardalos, the Academy Award-nominated writer of My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
La maggior parte dei ricercatori è arrivata alla conclusione che Zarathustra dovrebbe essere nato attorno all'anno 630 a.C. nella città di Battria. Di conseguenza non era un persiano bensì un battriano, come allora si chiamavano gli abitanti della regione. Ma apparteneva come i persiani agli Arya, la grande stirpe indoeuropea che a partire dal terzo millennio prima di Cristo si era spinta ininterrottamente dall'Asia centrale verso sud. Il nome Arya (oggi arii o ariani) se lo erano scelto gli stessi bellicosi nomadi; significa "i nobili" e doveva rendere evidente il distacco che volevano frapporre tra loro e i popoli sottomessi. Alcune tribù erano penetrate in India attorno al 1900 prima dell'epoca cristiana ed avevano fondato nel corso di dieci generazioni il sistema di caste degli indù, altre tribù erano confluite nello stesso periodo nei grandi altipiani disabitati, con steppe e deserti, montagne e fertili valli, in quel paese che alla fine si chiamerà "Iran", "paese degli ariani". Il nome di Zarathustra rivela la sua discendenza da una famiglia di ricchi allevatori, tradotto significa "l'uomo dai vecchi cammelli". Suo padre si chiamava Porushaspa, "quello dei destrieri balzani", come sta scritto nei frammenti a noi pervenuti dell'Avesta, la bibbia di Zarathustra.
Zarathustra fu il terzo figlio di una distinta famiglia nobile, gli Spitama, che ebbero cinque figli. Il padre sembra esser stato sacerdote di un clan di nobili allevatori che non avevano alcun tempio e offrivano i loro riti sacrificali all'aperto, nella steppa. Influenzato spiritualmente dalle tradizioni nomadi della sua tribù e dalla vita cittadina di Battria, fu destinato, ancora molto giovane, a seguire le orme del padre, a diventare lui pure sacerdote.
Zarathustra si accorse ben presto dell'inadeguatezza dei rituali mazdekisti, dato che all'età di vent'anni abbandonò la sua patria e parti in solitudine. Lui, che si nominava uno zaotar, poeta sacro e predicatore, voltò le spalle al mestiere di sacerdote. Dieci anni, forse anche vent'anni, dovettero durare le peregrinazioni del religioso viandante. Nell'Avesta troviamo scritto soltanto che alla fine, sul fiume Daitya, gli apparve un angelo e si sarebbe verificato uno dei più fecondi avvenimenti per la storia delle religioni. Zarathustra ebbe la visione della lotta cosmica tra le forze del bene e del male, tra Dio e Satana; poi della resurrezione dei morti nel giorno del giudizio universale e della continuazione dell'esistenza dopo la morte, nel paradiso o nell'inferno.
Sul fiume Daitya apparve - cosi raccontano le Gàthà - al religioso viandante, dopo lunghe meditazioni, l'angelo Vohu Manu "animo buono" avvolto in uno splendido mantello di luce che lo condusse al trono del dio Ahura Mazdah "signore saggio". Passarono diversi anni prima che Zarathustra, dopo quella visione, uscisse dalla solitudine iniziando quindi a predicare nella capitale della sua patria. La gente lo ascoltava senza troppo interesse, i sacerdoti e i nobili lo respingevano duramente. Pochi furono i seguaci che si strinsero attorno a lui e lo accompagnarono nei suoi viaggi di predicazione sulle piazze dei mercati nelle città, nei paesi e negli accampamenti di tende. Dopo anni di delusioni e di persecuzioni lasciò Battria e coi pochi suoi discepoli andò nel regno di Corasmia. Il re Vistaspa lo accolse benevolmente, tenne lunghe conversazioni con lui e si convertì alla nuova fede: fu un successo decisivo. I nobili a corte seguirono ben presto l'esempio del re, così fecero pure i sacerdoti. Zarathustra poté‚ iniziare la sua opera. Sotto la protezione del re fece costruire davanti alle porte della città il suo famoso tempio del fuoco al cui altare, all'aperto, i sacerdoti intonavano canti e catechizzavano il popolo. Non c'era più bisogno di sacrificare vittime animali per rendere benevoli gli dei. Chi agiva secondo i precetti del "saggio signore", Ahura Mazdah, cioè rettitudine, laboriosità e onestà, poteva sperare nella grazia divina per l'avvenire.
Keshmar divenne la residenza di Zarathustra e in quella città affluirono i curiosi per ascoltare le sue prediche, da lì partirono i suoi allievi come missionari nelle province lontane e in altri regni. Ciò nonostante non mancarono le difficoltà e gli ostacoli. La casta dei nobili sacerdoti, da lungo tempo insediati nella città, rimase testardamente fedele alla religione preesistente e si coalizzò con i principi degli stati vicini contro il riformatore. La guerra che segui fu fatale al fondatore della religione e al suo protettore, il re Vistaspa.
Si arrivò così alla prima guerra di religione sul territorio persiano. Per Zarathustra terminò in una catastrofe. Le truppe nemiche, quando penetrarono nella capitale, bastonarono a morte il vecchio di settantasette anni prima di doversi ritirare in fuga. Zarathustra morì da martire. Avvenne attorno all'anno 553 a.C. Secondo la leggenda la dottrina di Zarathustra fu scritta, ancora ai tempi del maestro, con inchiostro d'oro su dodicimila pelli di bue e venne poi conservata nella biblioteca reale di Persepoli. Di quell'originale non ci è pervenuto alcunché‚ dev'essere verosimilmente finito alle fiamme nell'anno 330 prima dell'epoca cristiana quando i soldati di Alessandro il Grande, conquistata la città, vi appiccarono fuoco. Ciò che è rimasto sono copie redatte seicento anni dopo da sacerdoti, sulla base di altri esemplari dell'Avesta; anche di quelle ci sono pervenute soltanto parti frammentarie perché‚ gli arabi, durante la loro avanzata conquistatrice, operarono ripetute distruzioni.
Zarathustra ha lasciato ben poco di scritto. Di tutto ciò che ci è pervenuto, solo le Gàthà (Gli inni) nei libri Yasna (Riti del sacrificio) che potrebbero essere ascritti direttamente a lui; esse furono infatti redatte in un dialetto simile al sanscrito come era allora in uso a Battria. Si tratta però di pochi punti di riferimento precisi che, nonostante ciò, permettono di ricostruire con una certa approssimazione i caratteri grandiosi e unici della sua dottrina. Zarathustra confutò la fede dei suoi padri che riconosceva un gran numero di ahura, le divinità della luce, e di daeva, i demoni. Egli sostenne che una sola di quelle divinità ahura era l'unico dio: Ahura Mazdah, "saggio signore". Ahura Mazdah non appare più agli uomini, come gli altri ahura, in maniera visibile, non sposa altre dee e non genera figli, non è nemmeno più una divinità volubile che, incomprensibilmente, dispensa a volte il bene, altre volte il male. Il suo Ahura Mazdah non ha un 'immagine corporea, è onnipresente, astratto e eterno; ben lontano dalle passioni umane incarna un principio facilmente identificabile: il bene. A questo unico dio si oppone però un antagonista col nome di Angra Mainyu, lo "spirito del male".
Il grande oppositore, un daeva in origine, non lascia niente di intentato per distogliere gli uomini dalla fede nel bene. Ci sono poi figure ausiliarie quali forze del bene e del male, sono spiriti e demoni derivati, nelle loro qualità, dalle divinità precedenti. Dalla parte di Ahura Mazdah sta innanzi tutto Spenta Mainyu, "spirito santo" che compare talvolta quale incarnazione dell'unico dio, altre volte come entità a se stante in qualità di annunciatore della volontà divina. I dei-servitori di questo "spirito santo" sono divinità della luce, amesha spentas, "spiriti immortali", gli angeli; essi ricevono di regola l'incarico di annunciare agli uomini i messaggi divini. Vohu Manu, "animo buono", era uno di quegli angeli apparso a Zarathustra per accompagnarlo al trono di dio. Dalla parte dello "spirito del male", Angra Mainyu, stanno i daeva, i demoni. A quel gruppo appartengono la maggior parte delle divinità venerate dai contemporanei di Zarathustra e sono spiriti cupi al servizio del male. Dio è eterno ma la lotta tra il bene e il male, tra la luce e le tenebre, è limitata nel tempo, così insegnò Zarathustra. La lotta iniziò dopo che Dio aveva creato un mondo senza peccato, abitato da un uomo e da un animale ideali. Allora, nel regno della luce di Ahura Mazdah, comparve il suo antagonista Angra Mainyu che negò la creazione divina e volle corromperla secondo le sue attitudini. Passarono tremila anni finché‚ lo spirito del male riuscì a penetrare nel mondo senza peccato e a eliminare l'uomo e l'animale ideali. Da quel momento si moltiplicarono sulla terra i demoni inferiori generati da Angra Mainyu. Lo spirito del male non riuscì però a scacciare dal mondo l'influenza del bene perché‚ sia l'uomo che l'animale ideali avevano lasciato il loro seme sulla terra. Da quel seme nacquero, magicamente, la prima coppia umana e le prime specie animali. In quelle nuove forme viventi erano però frammischiati sia il bene che il male, l'epoca d'oro del paradiso senza antagonismi e senza peccato era finita. Fu così che iniziò la storia universale costellata da conflitti e intrighi drammatici, da quel momento l'uomo fu, ed e ancora, chiamato a scegliere tra il bene e il male. La nuova epoca durava da trentamila anni. Poi Dio decise di aiutare gli uomini inviando tra loro un profeta: Zarathustra.
Il profeta però viene riconosciuto tale solo da una minoranza degli uomini e più tempo passerà dalla sua morte, più gli uomini si allontaneranno dalla morale e dalla virtù. Come punizione Dio condannerà il mondo a una catastrofe di inondazioni, di incendi e di guerre disastrose, quindi i suoi angeli suoneranno le trombe del giudizio universale. Così gli uomini tutti si alzeranno dalle loro tombe e dovranno rispondere al cospetto del divino signore della loro vita, se hanno accettato o rifiutato il messaggio spirituale del profeta. Mentre per i fedeli inizia a quel punto una "vita eterna" nel regno di Dio, gli altri saranno condannati all'eterno tormento" nell'inferno. Alcuni caratteri di questo insegnamento religioso erano nuovi, mai formulati e predicati fino ad allora da nessun altro uomo. Spesso si tratta di concetti che i cristiani, gli ebrei e i musulmani, pur con tutte le differenze nei dettagli, riconoscono a loro familiari, ovvi addirittura.
Ancora oggi gli storici delle religioni dibattono attorno alla questione se Zarathustra abbia riformulato in maniera più chiara idee già preesistenti oppure se creò qualcosa di radicalmente nuovo. Alcune delle loro ricerche però possono già essere prese come certezze ed ora le esamineremo.
Hello everybody
A buddy of me is at the moment at BrrickFair. He is the first time there and so he doesn´t know everything.
So here are the questions:
1. Where can het get BrickArmy Prototypes?
2. Are they for free?
3. Is BrickForge selling his Space Assault Armor and Legs?
4. Can he gets something for free at BrickFair
Thanks for the answers
Greets
Thomas (C.C.M. Production)
Question Mark. Aus der Serie „Satzzeichen“ 2014
Rotierende Skulptur aus Lianen Findling, fluoriszierendes Klebeband, schwarze Totenkopf Büchse und Schwarz Licht
Skulptur, Objekt, Video, Installation, Fotografie
Markus Wintersberger 2014
"What is a Caspian Gull?" is one of the more frequent questions coming in to BirdGuides. Back in 1982, when Peter Grant produced his seminal book Gulls: a Guide to Identification (revised edition 1986), which was really the starting point to modern gull identification, there was just the Herring Gull. There were Herring Gulls with pink legs and others with yellow legs, and that was about it. Of course Grant recognised that the southern forms were different subspecies, but he did not cover the more easterly birds in any detail. It was Ronald Klein who, before 1994, first discovered that some of the thousands of coloured and metal rings that he read on German landfill sites came from the Ukraine. He further noticed that these birds had a very distinctive appearance. Martin Garner was the first person to rumble these birds in the UK, not by reading rings, but by recognising them from their appearance. This he reported in his 1997 British Birds papers on "Identification of Yellow-legged Gulls in Britain". Of course when he wrote these papers, the name "Yellow-legged Gull" was ambiguous.
It was already well known that yellow-legged "Herring Gulls" from the Mediterranean moved north after the breeding season, but now birds from further east were doing the same - and they looked different. For a start, they didn't have yellow legs - but still they were all called Herring Gulls. To this day, field guides have not moved far beyond this position, and those that have do not give adequate treatment to these birds. Indeed the name "Caspian Gull" does not appear in any of them! To be fair, most of the progress in taxonomy and identification has happened after they were due at the printers.
Various names have been used for these birds, including Steppe Gull and Pontic Gull, but since Lars Jonsson's paper in Alula, Volume 4 3/98 "Yellow-legged Gulls and yellow-legged Herring Gulls in the Baltic" in which he presented reasoned arguments against the use of these names, the name Caspian Gull has gained widespread acceptance.
There is now increased clarity on the taxonomy of "large white-headed gulls" and it seems there are between 8 and 10 species knocking about between Europe and Asia. The clearest and most recent summary of all this is by Pierre Yesou, Dutch Birding Vol 24, No 5, 2002, "Systematics of Larus argentatus-cachinnans-fuscus complex revisited".
Most taxonomists seem finally to have agreed what mere birders have suspected for some time: that what was the Herring Gull in Europe is actually 3 good species, but at the time of writing, the BOURC has yet to agree, so the position of Caspian Gull and Yellow-legged Gull for the UK lister is still ambiguous.
The pink-legged gulls of Britain and other northern countries are still called Herring Gulls Larus argentatus, the yellow-legged ones from the Mediterranean, the Atlantic coast of Iberia, Morocco and the Atlantic Islands are called Yellow-legged Gulls Larus michahellis and the ones that have pale pink or pale straw-coloured legs, and which breed north of the Black Sea, in the Ukraine and east of there, are called Caspian Gulls Larus cachinnans.
Both Yellow-legged Gulls and Caspian Gulls have been moving north and northwest in recent years, and some Caspian Gulls have remained to breed in Poland and eastern Germany, a minority in mixed pairs with Herring Gull and Yellow-legged Gull. Where their breeding ranges overlap, Yellow-legged with Herring Gull in western France and Yellow-legged with Caspian Gull in Romania, there are far more pure than mixed pairs.
More good news is that the majority of individuals of these three species are quite easy to identify at all ages (but some are tricky). Now "quite easy" is a relative term. One has to go through some pain and dedication before getting to this level of confidence.
The normal sequence that intending gull-watchers go through is to find one or two Yellow-legged or Caspian Gulls of their own. They then realise how "easy" it all seems to be, and so wonder what the fuss was about. They then get something horribly wrong in front of their peers, suffer embarrassment and humiliation (in their mind) and become somewhat disillusioned about the whole thing. This is a cyclical process, which proceeds by correctly identifying more and more gulls, interspersed with cock-ups. I have been there, got the tee-shirt, book and seen the film and I still get it wrong sometimes. The seasoned gull-watcher has a very healthy respect for the problem, but if you don't make public mistakes, then you are not trying hard enough!
So why is it so hard? It is because they are gulls and no matter what rules you try, some individuals will always break them. Large gulls are incredibly variable because of a number of factors including age differences, racial differences, moult timing differences, amount of exposure to sun, to name a few.
The seasoned gull-watcher also wonders today how it was that such a cracking and distinctive gull as Caspian Gull was overlooked for so long – both by taxonomists and by birdwatchers. This is because, regrettably, things that are taxonomically lumped are considered less interesting and so receive less attention than those that are split. Also, it is believed that, as in the case of Mediterranean Gull, these birds have only been coming north and west in more recent decades.
Finding and identifying a Caspian Gull
It is a disappointing day if, in southeast England, in winter at least, a day's gull-watching at a landfill or a reservoir roost does not produce a few Yellow-legged Gulls and at least one Caspian Gull. Caspian Gulls outnumber Glaucous and Iceland Gulls together in our neck of the woods.
The easiest ages to pick out are 1st-winters and adults. There are enough of these around to make it well worth looking for them. So these are the only two ages that we will deal with here. This is not intended to be a definitive identification guide, so we will only describe the most typical birds - but, being gulls, there is considerable variation.
Imagine trying to tell the difference between Yul Brynner and Telly Savalas from a written description – far better to see some pictures of these two follically challenged gents. So the first step is to get some idea of what you are looking for. Fortunately, there are enough websites around with a wide range of pictures of Caspian Gulls to give one an idea. A good place to start is Rudy Offereins' site, which has a comprehensive index to other gull sites, as well as an excellent collection of pictures of Caspian Gulls:
www.xs4all.nl/~calidris/gullindex.htm
Birding World magazine, Vol. 13, No. 2, February 2000; also has a very good collection of pictures: "Caspian Gull Identification Gallery" by Theo Bakker, Rudy Offereins and Rik Winters.
What is the first thing that hits you while scanning a large flock of gulls and shouts Caspian Gull at you? Usually, whatever the age, it is its face: a gleaming white head, a small beady eye, and a long (sometimes very long), snouty, slender bill. Any adult "herring gull" during October to November with a pure white head is worth a second look, and this can be a useful indicator into December too (this also applies to Yellow-legged Gull). By the turn of the year it is becoming less useful as Scandinavian Herring Gulls (argentatus), with a similar shape, become white-headed too.
What is the list of things that you should check out when you think you have found a likely candidate?
The canonical 1st-winter Caspian Gull looks like this:
A white head nestled in a "shawl" of dark streaks around the hind neck.
A variable amount of "eye shadow" and an indistinct line from eye to eye across the nape.
A long, narrow, parallel-sided bill attached to a gently sloping forehead – sometimes recalling a huge Slender-billed Gull.
Uniform, dark, unpatterned greater and median coverts, with whitish tips. This gives the impression of uniformly dark greater coverts bordered by two parallel white lines. Some birds can have patterned greater coverts, especially on the inner ones (near the tertials).
White underwing and axillaries – really concentrate when the wings are raised! (white underwings in older birds are less relevant)
A pale panel on the inner primaries caused by pale, translucent inner webs, more obvious than Yellow-legged Gull.
Scapulars with pale greyish bases and with narrow single anchors with a thin dark shaft, or small triangles, or no anchors and just a thin shaft streak. The scapulars contrast paler than the wing coverts. There is a three-way contrast of grey mantle, brown wings and white body.
Tertials dark brown with a whitish "thumbnail" on the end of every feather.
A white tail with a broad even-thickness black tail-band. Any "herring gull" with a black (not dark brown) tail band and a clean white tail-base and rump is promising for Caspian or Yellow-legged Gull.
A white corridor from the chin, through the breast, all the way to the under tail coverts.
A characteristic structure: long bill, long neck, long legs, long wings.
Legs usually long and spindly, especially when viewed from the front or rear, greyish/whitish pink.
Just about all of these rules are broken by individual 1st-winter Caspian Gulls, but if you get a hit on most of them you are probably in with a shout.
The canonical adult Caspian Gull looks like this:
A smart, elegant, long-winged, long-legged, white-headed gull with a characteristic face.
A long, slender, parallel-sided bill, often pallid, even limey in colour, attached to a gently sloping forehead.
A small dark eye (bullet hole) (but 30% of birds have pale eyes).
Dorsum (= back and wing-coverts) shade darker than British Herring Gull, but lighter than Yellow-legged Gull.
A large white tip on P10 (outermost primary) and a long white tongue on the inner web of P10 (watch it preening).
Grey tongues protruding in to the black on the upper-side of the primaries in flight.
A broad black band on P5 (this is hard to see unless you get a photo or videograb of a stretched wing).
Long, slender legs, whitish-pink/pale straw (not yellow, but not as pink as Herring Gull)
Some birds have the appearance of an enormous Common Gull because of their long wings and a lot of white in the wingtip (this impression can be even more marked in some younger subadult birds which have a greenish bill with a black ring).
Again, most of these rules can be broken in perfectly good adult Caspian Gulls.
Apart from its appearance, if you are ever fortunate enough to hear a Caspian Gull call, it is quite remarkable: more like a donkey than a Herring Gull! Whatever the age, its behaviour on landfills is often quite distinctive, being aggressive to other birds, while holding its long wings outstretched like an albatross. They seem to be hyperactive; they wander about a lot; they waddle and seem to have big feet, like a duck; they frequently look for a lost egg between their legs; they peck and jab at other gulls - but note, the others can do some of these things on occasion too, especially michahellis. (Another difference is its breeding habitat: it differs from the other two, preferring low flat islands in lakes rather than cliffs and steep slopes.)
Traps for the unwary:
Yellow-legged Gull (michahellis) and Scandinavian Herring Gull (argentatus) can sometimes sport a remarkably long bill.
Michahellis is also very white-headed but normally has a heavier bill, yellower legs and different wing pattern.
Argentatus Herring Gulls acquire a very white head in the latter half of the winter. They can be a pitfall because they can have a similar shape to Caspian Gull but helpfully they lose their head streaks later than British birds (argenteus) and are unlikely to appear white-headed much before mid January.
Some adult argentatus Herring Gulls can have a very similar pattern to P10, and a narrow black band or a black mark on the outer web of P5 but are shorter legged.
Adult argentatus Herring Gulls from the north can be as dark as or darker than Caspian Gulls.
Both adult argentatus and michahellis can occasionally have a dark-looking iris.
Some eastern/Finnish adult Herring Gulls can sometimes look similar to Caspian Gull.
Occasionally, even very white-headed 1st-summer Lesser Black-backed Gulls can look like a Caspian Gull.
As well as misidentifying other species as Caspian Gulls, you can also be put off perfectly good Caspian Gulls because a 1st-winter has patterned greater coverts, or heavily marked scapulars or even a dark underwing. Birds of any age may have a shortish bill, or stout legs or an adult may have a pale eye. With some of these birds you cannot always be entirely certain you have not got one of mixed parentage. It seems likely that Caspian Gulls show as much variability as better-known forms such as Herring Gull, so not all should be expected to conform to the average appearance described above.
Once you have got the hang of 1st-winter and adult Caspian Gulls, you will recognise the look and structure in other ages. You will see very few juvenile birds: they are rare because most have moulted to 1st-winter plumage by the time they reach the UK.
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Peanuts. another i am not a fan of, but its a classic.
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