Gull's FeathersGull's FeathersWild West Yorkshire, Thursday 4 November 2010
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TWO SECONDARY feather from gull's wings, one from the left, one from the right, which I picked up on Cleethorpes beach, have an undersurface (right) which is a lighter grey than the upper, shown in this drawing. A grey upper surface and white underparts helps the gull blend in tonally with the sea below as seen from above, or the sky above when seen from below.
Now that you're as likely to see a 'sea gull' inland as you are on the coast this camouflage no longer works so efficiently; they show as a white wake following the plough against the dark autumn fields.
Richard Bell, illustrator
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