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<blockquote type=3Dcite cite> Friends--I suspect the message below
never posted because of a glitch at my end. My apologies if
I' ve posted it twice. I do look forward to your comments...<br>
<br>
<br>
During a visit to the Olympic Peninsula last summer I took the
opportunity to study <i>brachyrynchus </i>Mew Gull at the mouth of the
Elwa River.=A0 I'm now writing to inquire about differences between Mew
Gull <i>L. canus brachyrynchus </i>(hereafter, MEGU) and Common Gull
<i>L. canus canus</i> (hereafter, COGU). <br>
<br>
Sorry for the pedantry.=A0 But here in the east it's very important to
make the distinction, especially since the popular field guides send
people out looking for your bird, the Mew Gull, a great rarity, rather
than Common Gull, of Western Europe, the bird we can usually count on
seeing hither and yon, mostly in winter. <br>
<br>
I'll preface my queries with remarks on Common Gull for people who have
no experience with it.=A0 My queries concern adults only.=A0 I don't ask
about patterns in the outer primaries, a subject to which I would like to
return later. <br>
<br>
<b>Bill shape, size, coloration</b>.=A0 <br>
<br>
The numerous summer adult MEGU at Elwa impressed me as having much
smaller bills than the 12-15 winter COGU of all vintages I've studied in
Massachusetts, some at very close range for several weeks.=A0 The MEGU
bills appeared to be vertically thinner and shaped like pegs.=A0 That is,
the upper mandible paralleled the lower.=A0 By contrast, the COGU I've seen
presented upper mandibles thicker than lower, and noticeably down-curved
at the tip. <br>
<br>
<u>Question</u>. Is there a difference in bill shape and size? <br>
<br>
In winter, adult COGU very frequently presents a black bill tip or a
black smudge at the tip of the bill (but not a <i>well-defined</i>
ring).=A0 For years, our local heaviest of the heavies told people the bird
had to be a Ring-billed Gull (RBGU).=A0 Some of us fought him off.=A0 He
doesn't give out that misinformation anymore.=A0 <br>
<br>
Since he's super conservative, let's assume he had also been mislead by
the popular field guides and was thinking not of COGU but of your bird,
MEGU.=A0 <br>
<br>
<u>Question</u>. Does winter adult MEGU present black at the tip of the
bill, on either or both mandibles, or is the adult bill <i>always</i> a
clear yellow? <br>
<br>
<b>Tone of back</b>. <br>
<br>
I had been led to expect that MEGU would be noticeably darker on the
back than RBGU and also darker than COGU.=A0 I have been underwhelmed by
the difference in tone between the the latter two birds in Mass.=A0 I was
also underwhelmed by the difference in tone with the MEGU and RBGU at
Elwa. <br>
<br>
Maybe something's wrong with my dark/light perception.=A0 The California
Gulls at Elwa didn't strike me as noticeably darker than the RBGU either.
<br>
<br>
<u>Question</u>.=A0 Was I >>not<< seing things?=A0 Just how
would you all describe the difference in the tone of the back between
MEGU and RBGU? <br>
<br>
<b>Length of wings.</b>=A0 COGU appears longer-winged than RBGU, when both
are standing on the ice, beach etc., but the wings of the MEGU at Elwa
appeared even longer; indeed, the MEGU there appeared considerably more
graceful than most the COGU I have seen. <br>
<br>
<u>Question</u>.=A0 Can anyone address the issue of overall proportions?=A0
Is MEGU generally a more aesthetically elegant bird? <br>
<br>
I'll conclude now, for the moment, hoping to continue this discussion
later. <br>
<br>
Yours, <br>
<br>
Jim Barton <br>
redwing1986 at mediaone.net <br>
Cambridge, MA <br>
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