I was practicing shooting flying birds the other day, and waht is better than Sea Gulls. I came up with this bird. Does anyone have any idea what the yellow things are on his back intersperced with the wings? I have to think it is man made, but for what purpose? Any ideas would be appreciated.
Mac
The fact that they are symmetric on each side of the bird makes me think that they are visual wing tags used by researchers to track individual birds. It's a little odd, though, that they don't have any numbers.
We have seen a couple of these in Tennessee the last few years and my understanding is that they were the result of a study done in Chicago a few years back.
Here's a bit of information on different bird marking methods, including patagial tags, from the Bird Banding Lab in Patuxent, MD. As I recall, the tags are actually attached to the bird's feathers, which means that they will drop off when those feathers molt.
Patagial tags are often intended to last longer than a molt cycle. The tag is simply folded over the leading edge of the wing and attached to itself; e.g. with a rivet. No tissue is damaged (rivet goes between feathers).
Unknown wing parts
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