This bird is probably a Silver Gull, but as several people have suggested to
me, it could be a Common Gull (Larus canus). Looking at Seabirds of the
World (Harrison) and Birds of The World, it certainly looks just as likely
to be a Common Gull.
I have looked in Harrison and more closely at HANZAB. The yellow bill, feet
and legs is not described as a standard plumage, but it could be aberrant
colours.
So I encourage anyone in Perth to visit Lake Monger and make notes. I have
some photos but these won't be developed for several weeks.
Dave Mitchell first saw the bird in the south west corner of the lake near
the willow trees close to the shore near the island. I visited Lake Monger
on Saturday (1/1/99) afternoon and very quickly found it. The yellow bill,
legs and feet stand out quite clearly. Apart from these, the bird otherwise
looks very much like a Silver Gull at rest.
If you do visit Lake Monger, then take note of the details in flight
compared to Silver Gulls, and in particular the wing length, any mirrors in
the outer primaries, the extent of the darker feathers in the primaries, the
underwing, the tail length, the length of the primaries compared to the
immature Silver Gulls that are also present, and which plumage is still
immature (pale brown). Plus any other fields notes such as call, etc that
you can identify.
____________________________________________________________
Frank O'Connor Argyle Diamonds
8C Hardy Road PMB 11
Nedlands WA 6009 West Perth WA 6872
Phone +61 8 9386 5694 +61 8 9167 1445
ICQ 14655047 Fax +61 8 9167 1438
Email
Birding WA http://www.iinet.net.au/~foconnor/
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