In flight, adult Red-legged can be distinguished at long range by its darker gray mantle and mostly gray undersides of the flight feathers\u2014which are mostly white on Black-legged.\u00a0 Red-legged also has more extensive black on the leading edge of the primaries.<\/p>

If only the head can be seen well, Red-legged can be distinguished by its much shorter bill and sometimes by the apparent size or shape of its head, which often appears disproportionately large, at least in comparison to its short bill.<\/p>

Immature Red-legged differs from immature Black-legged in that it never shows a black tail tip and does not develop a full black \u201cM\u201d on the upperparts\u2014on Red-legged, the black is always limited to the primaries.\u00a0 Note that juvenile Red-legged has black legs, so leg color becomes a reliable distinction during the first winter as Red-legged\u2019s legs turn pale, then, pink, then red.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t