>Around Magadan, the Slaty-backs were not particularly brutish-looking
>or dark -- not much darker than than 'our' Westerns.
>
>In Provideniya (at the very eastern end of the continent) I ran into
>individual big bruisers that reminded a lot of Great Black-backs.

Interesting. Where is Provideniya relative to the Kamchatka Peninsula?
Do you know if these were local breeding birds or wintering birds? I'm
not up on my siberian geography (and unfortunately have no references here
at work); but I am under the impression that there are no breeding species
of large Larus gulls from about the middle of the east coast of the
Kamchatka Peninsula north to about St. Lawrence Island. (Only smaller
species like Kamchatka Gull and I guess also Sabine's and Kittiwakes.)

Skip

--
Skip_Russell at beav.intersolv.com
Aloha, Oregon