[SBB] More on Milpitas gulls

["Jeff Poklen" <[[email protected]]>]

Since my last post I've put up head shots of some Newfoundland Kumlien's, local Thayer's gulls and Gulls 1 & 2 for comparison at http://www.pbase.com/jpkln/milpitasgulls.  I've also deleted some redundant shots of Gulls 1, 2 and 3.  Opinions seem to be that Gull 3 is a bleached Glaucous-winged.    

In that post (26 Feb.) I offered no resolution.  I didn't claim Gull 1 was a Kumlien's and I didn't say it wasn't.  Rather I have some doubts and would prefer to consider as many options as possible before coming to a conclusion.  I have my own battle to fight regarding gull ID, and my own blind spots to deal with.  Please bear with me. 

Bleached or white primaries aside, notice in the head shots the variety of bill shapes, the overlaps and the extremes between Thayer's and Kumlien's.  Also notice that, on average, the Thayer's bill is slightly longer, more parallel-edged and with shallower gonys than the Kumlien's bill and that its head averages slightly longer, is less roundish.  But average doesn't necessarily translate into an identification and I think it would be a mistake to force it to do so.

This is a really interesting gull and I think there is probably enough evidence here to make it into a Kumlien's.  However, I also think the evidence may not be conclusive or distinctive enough to decisively set this bird apart.

Jeff Poklen

Santa Cruz, CA
[[email protected]]
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