Double-crested cormorant and a lone juvenile gull, Franklin ME.
@lies, what is the difference between a juvenile and immature bird?
Juvenile is a more-specific term. It refers to the first plumage the young bird has when it’s first out on its own. Immature in the broad sense just means the not yet mature (adult) plumage. In a more narrow sense I see it used to refer to plumages that come after the juvenile plumage but before the adult plumage.
Gulls go through a whole fascinating sequence of plumage changes. The bird in this photo does indeed look like a juvenile. I’m guessing it might be a young Ring-billed Gull, though I’m not sure.
Fun fact: Although this photo was taken in Maine, if that is indeed a RBGU it’s a species we also have out where I live in California, and was one of the “Big Four” local species I talked about in our birdwatching group’s Zoom meeting this week:
‘You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. I have loved none but you. Unjust I may have been, weak and resentful I have been, but never inconstant.’
