Another SBGU pic, and the old God versus Thayer's Gull debate

I'm still thrilled about that Slaty-backed Gull. So much so that I can't help but review Mark Szantyr's incredible images on a near-daily basis. I also found one more of my photos that I thought was worth posting. It was one of my first looks at the bird, when a large, angry-looking dark-backed gull popped-up among the feeding masses. While feeding, this SBGU was very aggressive, chasing whichever bird stood in its way.


An intimidating bird, note its fierce expression, which was the very first thing I noticed when I saw its head pop-up above the trash. Also can appreciate the blotchiness across the upper breast, almost creating a warm brown bib. This may be my only shot of the tri-colored underwing (white wing linings, gray flight feathers, black primary tips).

James P. Smith has posted his collection of images along with an analysis of the mantle shades of several adult gulls including Slaty-backed.

Larry Nichols was able to capture a video of the bird bullying his competition (the bird is probably a male given its large size and somewhat hefty bill).

And while I never post anything like this, because nobody cares including myself, I had a dream last night that I found amusing. All I remember was having a debate with another birder about which is more likely to actually exist: God, or pure Thayer's Gull. Well, I found it funny anyway....

Hope to actually do some real birding soon!

- Nick

Comments

  1. Just lump them all as Larus Borealis and be done with it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Can't wait to see the Frontiers thread if you turn up a 1st year Thayers Gull at Windsor ;) - watch that one run and run! Now what color is that on the kodak gray scale

    ReplyDelete

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