Breeding plumage Franklin's gull in flight

The little Franklin's gull is a bird of the inland West. In breeding plumage they are pinkish with black hoods, red bills, and dull reddish legs and feet.

A gull park - Franklin's and ring-billed

Spring Franklin's gulls hang out with ring-billed gulls in an empty feedlot near Brush, Colorado.

Fall Franklin's gulls

In fall Franklin's gulls partially lose their hoods. Their bills turn black and their legs darken. Note the winter plumage American avocets wading behind the gulls.

Fall Franklin's gulls in flight

As the Franklin's gulls mill over a sandbar on a prairie reservoir, a smaller Bonaparte's gull (paler head)is in the upper center.