[I tried sending a version of this note earlier today, but it didn't go
through; I apologize if the earlier version re-emerges from the ether.]
The question is not whether any hybridization at all is occurring, but whether
hybridization is a plausible explanation for a major change in the averag
Hi all,
Sadly, I am not nearly well read enough on the subject of Iceland/Thayer's Gull
but I am thoroughly enjoying reading the thoughts of others.
Is there any evidence to suggest that the variation in wingtip pigmentation is
clinal throughout the breeding range of 'Kumlien's Gull'?
With r
Given that this conversation found me four times independently in one day, I
think it's worth at least collecting some of the threads, if not measuring them
or tying them together!
My perception is that the Iceland Gulls I see on Long Island and in coastal
southern New England are very variable
As far as the literature goes, K.M. Olsen and H. Larrson "Gulls of North
America, Europe and Asia" show an adult Kumlein's "Iceland" Gull with
extensive black in the primaries in photo 275 on page 223 and over the page
on 224 photo 276 shows an adult with pale eyes.
Now the whole thing just comes
Coincidentally, on the same day that I photographed the classic Kumliens Gull
at Iron Pier Beach, I also photo'd an adult with black in the wingtips. That
bird was on Artist Lake in Middle Island, also in Suffolk County. Photo at
http://m.flickr.com/#/photos/35575873@N02/11913883496/sizes/m/
In a
Pictures relating to the following are at http://www.stevewalternature.com/
It was good to hear Mike Cooper's January 12 report that the presumably same
Iceland Gull is back and doing well at Iron Pier Beach. I photographed this
bird on January 7, 2012 (lower left) and as an immature February 16,