2 - QUESTION NEEDS ANSWER:
Interesting wader, but... what is it?

Sandpiper 03081995 >01-13< Port of Rotterdam, The Netherlands
c Norman Deans van Swelm >01-13<

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3 - QUESTION NEEDS ANSWER:

Adriaan Dijksen asked me to show pictures of a dark-mantled gull he took in Chukochea, Russia.

The gull was in the company of the largest of the Glaucous Gull races pallidissimus.

It is not known wether the gulls were local breeders.

Is it Slaty-backed Gull Larus schistigagus or a Taimyr Gull Larus taimyrensis?

The latter can look rather dark when in the company of Glaucous Gulls.

Glaucous Gull Larus h.pallidissimus&dark-mantled Gull July 1993

Chukochea, Kolyma Delta, NE Russia c Adriaan Dijksen 

Glaucous Gull Larus h.pallidissimus&dark-mantled Gull July 1993 283

Chukochea, Kolyma Delta, NE Russia c Adriaan Dijksen

4 - QUESTION NEEDS ANSWER:
P8 pattern on Kamchatka Gull Larus kamchatchensis
 vs Short-billed Gull Larus brachyrynchus definitive?

I recently received a verbal description of a Mew Gull that sounds very much
like it would be smack on for Kamchatka Gull. The keen observer was able
to get at least one photo of the bird and it is a flight shot taken on 1st February
2009 on Qualicum Beach, Britisch Columbia by Mike Ashbee.

Having looked at the photo, from what I can see there is reason to suspect
Kamchatka Gull however there is a small white subapical spot on P8. I had
thought that such a spot was not present on Kamchatka but given gulls, perhaps i
t is not a definitive mark? It does seem hard to believe that a single feather
would clinch an ID on a gull when other much more obvious
characters all seem to point in the direction of kamchatka.

In short, is the P8 pattern definitive in separating brachyrynchus from
kamchatka or do we have some kamchatka gulls out
there with brachyrynchus features and vice versa?

I would appreciate comments on the separation of these two as I receive
reports of Kamchatka on an annual basis here along the British Columbia coast.
Don Cecile

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5 - QUESTION NEEDS ANSWER:
Mystery Stints in the State of Washington