The current position on Skokholm for interest...
Lesser Black-backed Gull x Herring Gull Larus fuscus x Larus argentatus
Scarce Breeder
Apparent hybrids were paired with Lesser Black-backed Gulls above South Haven and near Little Bay Point. Whether the hybrid birds are remnants of cross-fostering experiments (500 Herring Gull and 400 Lesser Black-backed Gull chicks were raised by adults of the ‘wrong’ species between 1963 and 1966 with the result that they frequently paired with the species of the adopting parents), or whether they are the result of natural interbreeding, is unclear. The outcomes of both attempts are not known.
(Skokholm BO Seabird Report 2013)
