On Fri, 23 Feb 1996, Alvaro Jaramillo wrote:

> This is a very general description, but it does not sound like a
> Slaty-backed Gull to me. Slaty-backed Gulls, as adults, should have pale
> yellow eyes, nearing whitish-yellow. The bills are not bright yellow, but
> pale yellow like a Herring Gull, I am unsure about what 'very yellow' means.
> Given the rarity of this species, I think that it is premature to make the
> identification without seeing diagnostic features such as the wing pattern,
> in addition to the bill structure. Just and opinion :-)

Yes, it is a very general descripton. Looking at my other messages today,
I can see that it was clear (to me at least) that I was in a hurry this
mourning. I should say that the feathers, surrounding the eye, made it
appear dark. The bird was to far away to pick out the "eye color."

The view that I had of this bird would probably stand up to the rigours
of a committee review. That is I could not defend it tooth and nail. I am
certain, though, that this is what the bird was, and thought that other
would like to know of its presents.

>
> I had a good look at a series of specimens a while ago and discovered that
> young males in fall are quite difficult to separate from adult females.
> However, adult males do not have a noticeably different 'winter' plumage,
> they appear just a little duller than in the breeding season which does not
> sound like this bird. If it is really yellow on the breast and has lots of
> black on the throat then its an adult male, but the yellow has not been
> mentioned and I imagine that it would be difficult to confuse an adult male
> with a female. The extensive black on the throat and bright rufous on the
> coverts does not necessarily exclude a young male particularly if it has
> begun its prealternate moult.

The bird did have a quite noticeable yellow breast. It extended down to
the belly and not quite across the width of the breast. It also showed a
good bit of yellow in the face on the eyebrow and on the malar area. The
bird showed no signs of streaking at all on the flanks.

Dose that help make thing a little clearer?

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Russell Rogers
4510 Glenn Way SW
Seattle, WA 98116
(206) 935-6280
rrogers at halcyon.com
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