Hi all,
Congratulations to these great shots, Rohan!
Whilst I agree that this guy is too dark for a Larus (heuglini) taimyrensis, I
still don't like the idea of it being a Larus fuscus fuscus. I still think that
the bird is too bulky and that its upperparts are too cold dark grey for a L.
f. fuscus. My ID would still be Larus heuglini. Contra my initial comment, more
likely L. h. heuglini than L. h. taimyrensis.
Cheers,
Nikolas
----------------
Nikolas Haass
Sydney, NSW
________________________________
From: Rohan Clarke <>
To: Harry Nyström <>
Cc: Mike Carter <>; Jeff Davies <>;
Nikolas Haass <>; George Swann of Kimberley Birdwatching
<>; Richard Baxter <>;
"" <>; Frank O'Connor
<>
Sent: Monday, January 21, 2013 8:26 PM
Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Lesser Black-backed Gull in Broome
Hi Harry,
Regarding the Broome Gull, I have just finished posting 20 images
to the following link.
http://www.pbase.com/wildlifeimages/lesser_black_backed_gull
It would be great if you could pass this link on to some Finnish
laridists, as I know all of the observers would be keen to hear
their opinions. If you (or they) require higher resolution copies
of any of the images I'd be happy to forward these directly.
Regards,
Rohan
On 21/01/2013 3:38 PM, Harry Nyström wrote:
Hi,
>
>
As we have the nominate race of the Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus
fuscus) breeding here in Finland and several Heuglin's Gulls (Larus fuscus
heuglini) passing by each year, I would be happy to forward some images to some
Finnish "laridists" for assessment if you want to. Just let me know when the
photos are available and if you would like to hear another opinion, and I'll
handle the rest.
>
>
>Cheers,
>
-Harry
>
>
>
>2013/1/21 Mike Carter <>
>
>We (Rohan Clarke, Richard Baxter, Frank O'Connor and I) are back from Broome
>where the Lesser Black-backed Gull was easily found and viewed. Before we got
>there George & Jim had taken more photos from better angles, fuller profile
>shots, which confirmed our judgements from the earlier images. While we were
>there ca. 1,000 photos were taken notably by Rohan Clarke, photographer
>extraordinaire, and nine of those are already in circulation and will no
>doubt, soon be posted on his web site http://www.pbase.com/wildlifeimages but
>I did not find them when I looked this morning. Virtually all aspects are
>depicted.
>>Firstly for those interested in twitching this bird, the
rubbish tip is in the ominously named Buckley's Street (or
Road), a ten minute drive from China Town, Broome. Probably
because we there on a Saturday morning when no heavy
vehicles were operating, there was no hesitation from gate
control in allowing us in. Note that we arrived at different
times in 4WD vehicles and were allowed to drive anywhere but
wandering about on foot was not permitted. Entry on week
days and after rain may be more difficult and due to the
undulating nature of the site, the bird is unlikely to be
easily visible from outside the fence. The site was muddy
with pools of water and torrential rain that afternoon after
we had left may have made it impassable. The bird was
present throughout our stay, often associating with Silver
Gulls. As previously stated, anyone experiencing difficulty
should contact George Swann. And don't forget that the
Semi-palmated Plover should still be around Broome.
>>Whilst this bird could easily be mistaken for a Kelp Gull,
there are several characters, some more subjective than
others, that proclaim that this is not a Kelp Gull. These
include structural features such as general shape being more
gracile, smaller head, slighter bill as well as plumage
features such as more greyish tones to upperparts. The most
convincing, measurable features are the obviously longer
wings projecting much further beyond the tail and the moult
stage.
>>The bird is one of two similar taxa, which according to the
latest IOC classification as adopted by BARC, are both
subspecies of Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus. These
are the nominate fuscus (Baltic Gull) favoured by some, me
included although I oscillate, and the race heuglini (AKA
Heuglin's Gull) favoured by others. Most consider it too
dark for the race taimyrensis.
>>Expressing the moult situation in the manner set out by
Nikolas in the email below obscures important details. There
are clearly two feather generations in the primaries. Whilst
slightly worn indicating that they are not fresh feathers,
p1 to p6 are much newer than p7 to p10, which are very old
and worn. Whilst this moult pattern does fit heuglini, it
also fits fuscus so is of little or no value in determining
subspecies. Using the wing tip diagrams in the Olsen &
Larsson Gull book pages 26-32, the darkness of the primaries
is a better fit for fuscus, whilst the size of the remnant
mirror on p10 is a better fit for heuglini. I also feel that
the total lack of dark streaking on the head or neck that is
supposedly a feature of winter plumage in both contending
taxa favours fuscus as that race has the least amount of
streaking.
>>
>>Mike Carter
>>30 Canadian Bay Road
>>Mount Eliza VIC 3930
>>Tel (03) 9787 7136
>>
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