Hi Eugene,
I have the feeling lot's of Birders going home with seeing the dark
Western, instead of the Real Slaty-backed Gull.The reason i say this, most
of the time i hear the call the dark western the real Gull, to i point out
this Gull is a Western Gull otherwise there would go home, that there saw
the Slaty- backed Gull.If you have the new Fall Issue of Field Notes:The
Cover is a Kelp- Gull, the Slaty-backed looks that dark.We had three
Western there, but i only have to look at the Bill at the western and i
know this isn't the real Slaty-backed. the colour of bright yellow alone
makes it a western.The Slaty have a pale straight Bill, the Western have a
white Head, the Slaty have smal brownish pin- stripes what NO other Gull
have there.I can pick this Gull out anytime, because it is the typical
Species,what a real Slaty- backed Gull should look like, wy make more
complicated than it is?
Ruth
GODWIT at worldnet.att.net



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> From: Eugene Hunn <hunnhome at accessone.com>
> To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
> Subject: gulls, etc.
> Date: Sunday, January 18, 1998 6:06 PM
>
> Gene Hunn, Seattle, hunnhome at accessone.com
>
> I joined the multitudes today chasing rare gull stakeouts hereabouts:
> Slaty-backed at Gog-le-hi-te wetlands, Tacoma; Little Gull at American
Lake,
> Lakewood; Glaucous Gull at Tukwila. I saw the Little Gull well at quite a
> long distance dancing about on the far side of the lake with Bonies.
Missed
> the Glaucous twice, yesterday because I forget the exact directions and
> drove all around for an hour (Tukwila scenic tour) seeing few if any
gulls)
> and today the flock was across the river rooting about in a cement plant
and
> the Glaucous not visible in the afternoon rain (though it was seen
earlier).
>
> I didn't see Ruth's Slaty-backed, which judging by the fotos on the net
and
> descriptions is much darker than the Western-types round about and with a
> "Thayer's-like" dainty bill. However, there were in addition to one fine
> adult Western, two other slightly darker-mantled adults that did not
readily
> compute for me as Westerns. One might well have been another
Slaty-backed,
> as it showed what I have always thought of as "typical" Slaty-backed
winter
> adult head pattern of broad smudgy nape streaks (mixed with fine brown
> streaking at close range? but we were not at close range) and the tapered
> dark eye patch about a pale yellow eye. It also might have shown the
> "necklace" just short of the wingtip, but vouchsafed me but one fleeting
> opportunity to see if it did or it didn't (and I thought it did). It flew
> off and landed on a flat-topped roof that prevented any closer scrutiny
at
> that time.
>
> The second odd individual seemed to have a rather heavy, Western-like
bill,
> but the bill was pale yellow and without the red spot (the former
possible
> Slaty-backed and the classic Western had butter-yellow bills with red
gonys
> spots), perhaps suggesting malnutrition, as it had an all white tail and
> perfectly adult mantle and primaries. The underside of the outer
primaries
> appeared paler than in a Western, but I was not able to discern the
presence
> or absence of the "necklace." The head was not immaculate white but
showed a
> hint of the "Slaty-backed" nape smudging and eye patch, but much less
> noticeable than on the former bird. The iris was a baleful
yellowish-white
> at close range. Both these suspicious individuals were a half shade
darker
> on the mantle than the "classic" adult, immaculate headed Western, but
not
> so dark as to grab you by the teeth!
>
> There was also a Pseudo-Glaucous Gull, with a very nice two-toned pink
and
> dusky bill, very pale body, but dusky gray primaries and tail. A very
worn
> and bleached 2nd winter Glaucous-winged, I would surmise.
>
> In any case, I am more than ever puzzled about Slaty-backed
identification.
> Based on the one bird whose foto is now posted, observers are assuming
that
> a definitive feature of Slaty-backed Gull is a "Thayer's-like" bill, but
the
> fotos in Grant suggested otherwise, i.e., that the typical Slaty-backed
has
> a bill at least as strong as a local Herring Gull, if slighter at least
than
> the heavy extremes of Western and Glaucous-wingeds. However, I believe
that
> Ruth's bird is quite extreme on the dainty end of the scale. The fotos in
> Grant's Gull Bible also show many Slaty-backed Gulls with mantles that do
> not appear any darker than typical northern Western Gulls. But, then
again,
> you can't trust fotos to always tell the truth. There are either a number
of
> Slaty-backed Gulls slipping through without being identified because they
> are not "typical," or Western Gull's can show a much wider range of eye
> colors, winter head patterns, wing-tip patterns, etc., than I have
assumed.