These pages are dedicated to those rakish scavengers from the north (okay, some are from the south): gulls! gulls! gulls! Many breed in remote locales, migrate great distances, and, in winter, form the most coveted phenomenon that birders hope for: mixed species flocks. With these habits, there exists tremendous potential for rare vagrants to show up anywhere (e.g. a Glaucous-winged Gull in Morocco!). It is hoped that this website may help us all with gull identification.

TO STUDENTS WORKING ON SCHOOL PROJECTS/PAPERS: yes, you have permission to use the information and images here for personal educational projects and class assignments. Such use does not violate copyright laws.

IMAGES AND DESCRIPTIONS OF RECOGNIZED SPECIES/SUBSPECIES
Species marked with have comprehensive plumage descriptions.

GLAUCOUS GULL hyperboreus	HEUGLIN'S GULL heuglini=taimyrensis/antelius	YELLOW-LEGGED GULL atlantis/michahellis	CALIFORNIA GULL californicus/albertaensis
ICELAND GULL glaucoides	LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL graellsii/intermedius	CASPIAN GULL cachinnans/ponticus	BLACK-TAILED GULL crassirostris
THAYER'S GULL thayeri	BALTIC GULL fuscus	("Baraba") STEPPE GULL barabensis	RING-BILLED GULL delawarensis
HERRING GULL smithsonianus	SLATY-BACKED GULL schistisagus	ARMENIAN GULL armenicus	COMMON GULL canus/heinei
HERRING GULL argenteus	GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL glaucescens	MONGOLIAN GULL mongolicus	MEW GULL brachyrhynchus
("Scandanavian") HERRING GULL argentatus	WESTERN GULL occidentalis/wymani	GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL marinus	KAMCHATKA GULL kamtchatkensis
VEGA GULL vegae	YELLOW-FOOTED GULL livens	KELP GULL dominicanus

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HYBRIDS

GLAUCOUS-WINGED X WESTERN (Olympic/Puget Sound Gull)	GLAUCOUS-WINGED X HERRING (Cook Inlet Gull)	GLAUCOUS X GLAUCOUS-WINGED	HERRING X GLAUCOUS (Nelson's Gull)
HERRING X KELP	HERRING X GREAT BLACK-BACKED	HERRING X LESSER BLACK-BACKED	ICELAND X THAYER'S (Kumlien's Gull)

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SPECIAL PAGES: abbreviations, notations, and feather tracts the shades of mantle gray page how dark was the "adult gray" on that gull? a beginner's guide to aging gulls how old is that bird?

taxonomy and species names variability of gull plumages includes a useful chart The Hampton Scale proposed thayeri-kumlieni-glaucoides scale

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GULL HUMOR:

Let's Get Our Larophilia On, Shall We?

Nasty Gulls by Punkbirder

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Thanks to all who have contributed pictures and comments! It is you who make these pages possible!

-Steve Hampton; send comments to me at stevechampton, at gmail.

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