[obol] Re: Thayer's vs Glaucous-Winged x Western?
- From: "Robert O'Brien" <baro@xxxxxxx>
- To: jrc7219@xxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 1 Feb 2015 11:28:01 -0800
Well, many years ago I got excited about hybrid gulls but eventually
decided it was a little like
Pandora's Box, because they don't hybridize just once. In those days I
photographed an adult, banded
gull in Portland, which turned out to originate from Skilak Lake on the
Kenai Peninsula. In my obsession I later
kayaked this lake but didn't find it all that ornithologically intriguing.
Anyhow, on this lake (as elsewhere in the area) Glaucous-winged and Herring
freely hybridize.
And then they head south.
Although this gull has a bill perhaps a little large for Thayer's, the bill
has a similar color and thinness. It doesn't
look very Western-like to me though. The rest of the gull is somewhat
oversized and 'heavy' for Thayers.
Soooooo, my vote would be for GWxHerring. But hey, so far they aren't
demanding voter ID in birding,
so I'm just lucky I get to vote at all.
Bob OBrien
Carver OR
http://www.tertial.us/gulls/gwhe4.htm
On Sat, Jan 31, 2015 at 9:32 PM, Justin Cook <jrc7219@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Hello,
> Thought I'd get some opinions on this gull I saw at Clackamette Park
> today. I thought "oh a Thayer's" but then Larus-doubt creeped in and took
> hold.
>
> https://flic.kr/p/q4zU6m
> https://flic.kr/p/qJasZg
>
> So it has a "friendly" face, I'd let it take a Mew to the prom. Somewhat
> slenderish bill but the gonydeal seems to have some angle to it. The eye
> was fairly dark with maybe a raspberry coloring to the orbital but the
> light could have been better.
> The legs don't have that deep pink color. The gray mantle was a close
> match to the Glaucous-Winged gulls.
> I saw a picture on the interweb that seemed close and it was a
> Glaucous-Winged x Western but the mantle was darker.
>
> Thanks in advance for any help!
>
> Justin
>
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