{"id":44007,"date":"2016-12-19T06:43:29","date_gmt":"2016-12-19T13:43:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=44007"},"modified":"2025-05-23T12:42:32","modified_gmt":"2025-05-23T17:42:32","slug":"eye-color-variation-in-california-gulls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/12\/19\/eye-color-variation-in-california-gulls\/","title":{"rendered":"Eye Color Variation in California Gulls"},"content":{"rendered":"

The typical eye color for California Gulls is a very dark brown that appears almost black in most cases but there can be variations in their eye color.<\/p>\n

\"CloseClose up showing eye color variation in a California Gull – Nikon D500, f10, 1\/1000, ISO 200, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Yesterday I was inside a vehicle photographing other birds when I saw this California Gull walk up close and when I focused on it to take a few portraits of the gull I noticed its unusual eyes. They remind me of polished Onyx or Snowflake Obsidian with flecks of light grays and sparkles of white in the stone.<\/p>\n

\"CaliforniaCalifornia Gull close up in nonbreeding plumage – Nikon D500, f8, 1\/1600, ISO 400, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

This is a California Gull with typical dark eyes taken at the same pond the day before I photographed the one with the unusual eyes. There are no flecks of lighter colors in its eyes.<\/p>\n

\"EyeEye color variation in a California Gull – Nikon D500, f10, 1\/800, ISO 200, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

This image shows the left eye of the California Gull I photographed yesterday that shows both eyes have the variation in eye color but the pattern of the flecks and sparkles is a bit different than it is in the right eye.<\/p>\n

I have seen this eye color variation a few times before but these close up portraits show the variation much better than other images I have taken of California Gulls with different eye colors.<\/p>\n

\"California<\/p>\n

California Gull close up in December – Nikon D500, f11, 1\/800, ISO 400, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

This is another close up taken two days ago showing a California Gull with normal colored eyes. Eye color in California Gulls does not change during breeding season and remains the same throughout their lives so the bird I photographed yesterday will have those sparkling eyes for the rest of its life.<\/p>\n

I guess sometimes it pays to keep an eye out for subtle variations in the birds I photograph. Sorry for the pun! (Not really)<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my California Gull photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The typical eye color for California Gulls is a very dark brown that appears almost black in most cases but there can be variations in their eye color.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":146378,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,520,709,26],"tags":[4004,4333,4142,5505,5567,5568,3539,521,4230,4246,4046,373,5480],"class_list":["post-44007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-california-gulls","category-salt-lake-county-utah","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-california-gull","tag-close-up","tag-eye-color","tag-eye-color-variation","tag-eye-color-variations","tag-gull","tag-gulls","tag-larus-californicus","tag-nonbreeding-plumage","tag-portrait","tag-winter","tag-winter-plumage"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/california-gull-odd-eyes-mia-mcpherson-5297.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-brN","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":62139,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/12\/19\/california-gull-with-eyes-that-look-like-snowflake-obsidian\/","url_meta":{"origin":44007,"position":0},"title":"California Gull With Eyes That Look Like Snowflake Obsidian","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 19, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"It has been three years and one day since I took photos of a California Gull that had eyes that looked like snowflake obsidian.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"California Gull with snowflake obsidian eyes, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/california-gull-snowflake-obsidian-eyes-mia-mcpherson-5305.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/california-gull-snowflake-obsidian-eyes-mia-mcpherson-5305.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/california-gull-snowflake-obsidian-eyes-mia-mcpherson-5305.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/california-gull-snowflake-obsidian-eyes-mia-mcpherson-5305.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":107838,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/11\/08\/winter-california-and-herring-gull-comparison-in-utah\/","url_meta":{"origin":44007,"position":1},"title":"Winter California And American Herring Gull Comparison In Utah","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 8, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Since I frequently get asked which is which I thought this would be a good time to do a winter California and American Herring Gull comparison and ID feature post.","rel":"","context":"In "American Herring Gulls"","block_context":{"text":"American Herring Gulls","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/gulls\/herring-gulls\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Herring Gull - California Gull Comparison and ID Features, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/herring-california-gull-winter-adult-comparison-mia-mcpherson-0305.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/herring-california-gull-winter-adult-comparison-mia-mcpherson-0305.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/herring-california-gull-winter-adult-comparison-mia-mcpherson-0305.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/herring-california-gull-winter-adult-comparison-mia-mcpherson-0305.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":137703,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/12\/07\/its-weird-not-seeing-california-gulls\/","url_meta":{"origin":44007,"position":2},"title":"It’s Weird Not Seeing California Gulls!","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 7, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I have to admit that, after living in Utah for nearly fifteen years, it feels weird not seeing California Gulls now that I've moved away. Really weird.","rel":"","context":"In "California Gulls"","block_context":{"text":"California Gulls","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/gulls\/california-gulls\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"California Gull giving me the eye, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/california-gull-willow-pond-utah-mia-mcpherson-8945.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/california-gull-willow-pond-utah-mia-mcpherson-8945.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/california-gull-willow-pond-utah-mia-mcpherson-8945.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/california-gull-winter-plumage-mia-mpherson-8918.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/california-gull-winter-plumage-mia-mpherson-8918.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/california-gull-winter-plumage-mia-mpherson-8918.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/california-gull-winter-plumage-mia-mpherson-8918.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":119650,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/01\/13\/california-gull-a-misnamed-gull-species\/","url_meta":{"origin":44007,"position":4},"title":"California Gull – A Misnamed Gull Species","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 13, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"As I photographed a winter California Gull at my local pond two days ago, I thought about how these gulls are a misnamed species for the umpteenth time.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Portrait of a California Gull calling in spring, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/california-gull-calling-mia-mcpherson-2671.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/california-gull-calling-mia-mcpherson-2671.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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