The range of plumages that they have depends on their age and time of year, as it does for most gulls, and so they are not the easiest birds to identify.

All year round the adult Black-headed Gull has silver grey upperparts and white underparts, and dark red bill and legs. The wings have black wing-tips and a white edge along the forewing.

In the summer, the adult has a dark chocolate brown head (but not nape and neck), but in the winter it has only a small black smudge to the rear of each eye.

Young birds have ginger-brown mantle, shoulders, and wing feathers - as they reach two years old - they are more like the adults.

This elegant species of gull with its slender wings and sharp points, its red legs and its smudge behind the eye is really a beautiful bird. Some would think it were a seagull - but it really isn't.

These birds are usually seen in groups or flocks. These gulls can be seen on the Western Isles all the year round.

Although these birds are called "black" headed - the heads are actually more of a chocolate-brown - in fact, for much of the year, it has a white head.

These gulls have bright red legs and red bills

One of the commonest inland gulls in Scotland. They eat Worms, insects, fish and carrion.You can see these birds all over the western isles. They breed in colonies - often very large colonies. The gulls are very noisy. Pairs hold a small territory and defend it from rivals and predators.