Don (96-03-14) responded by saying:

>>If you were to read the first-hand accounts, I'm certain they would say
>>Seagull...

Diane:
> "You have both missed the real point concerning the name of the Utah
>state bird. Speaking as a descendant of the pioneers who were saved by the
>gulls, I can verify that most Utahns are acutely aware that their state bird
>is the California Gull, and if they refer to it as a generic "Seagull","
> it is because of the sting of having another state's name attached to a bird
>that has so much significance to their own history.

I have no doubt this is true today, but doesn't help me with the historic
question. Were the gulls named "California gulls" at the time of the
pioneers being saved by them? When was the bird adopted as the official
state bird, and was the reason for calling it the "seagull" for the
reason stated? Was the name "California gull" official at the time
of its beign adopted as the official state bird, or was it called
something like "Duck gull" or "Hen gull" or "Pigeon gull" or ???

I'm actually kind of curious, now. Since Jim Russo brought this
up as part of his Encarta work, maybe he could look up some basic facts
regarding adoption of the gull, i.e. date?

Here's a related, trivial question: are any state birds affected
by the recent changes in nomenclature announced by the AOU? If so,
do the states change the names officially?

There are a bunch of states, including Oregon, which have the Western
Meadowlark as their state bird. Just think of the havoc that would
result if this were split into a half-dozen species. Some states
might even have to change their State Song (hey, what's Washington's
State Song, anyway?)

- Don Baccus, Portland OR <donb at rational.com>
Nature photos, on-line guides, more *died* as site ate its disk