Book Reviews: Gulls Simplified

Gulls are tricky to identify. Not only are the birds largely similar, but it takes multiple years for the birds to reach mature plumage and the plumage differs by age. To make things more fun, there can be a fair amount of variation within age groups.

For most of our birds, we learn male, female, immature, and possibly nonbreeding. If you live in an area where gulls are common, you would have a motivation to study and get good with identification. Here in the Wichita Falls, TX area, we only get gulls in the winter and 95% or more are ring-billed gulls. Consequently, many locals identify gulls as a "ring-billed gull" or "not a ring-billed gull." We really have to have time to study a gull to have a hope of making an accurate identification--and we are hoping we have adult plumage to work with. Many of us have more "gull species" than clearly identified species on trip lists.

Princeton University Press sent me a review copy of Gulls Simplified: A Comparative Approach to Identification, by Pete Dunne and Kevin Karlson. What makes it especially useful are the numerous pictures (330 color photos). The species accounts are focused on identification which is the purpose of the book. There are lots of pictures with a discussion of what field marks to look for and where you may get confused with another species. There isn't a lot of text, but there is some commentary on those traits that experienced birders notice that can make a difference in deciding between two species. For example, the Great Black-backed gull is referred to "chestier" than a Herring Gull and its gait is referred to as a "waddling sailor's gait." To a non-birder, this may not seem to be anything other than literary description, but it is precisely these things that allow a birder to identify similar species quickly in the field.

Overall, this is an excellent book to hone your gull identification skills. It isn't a book to take into the field, but a great supplemental reference to use when you get back to the house with your field notes and/or photos.

The list price for this book is $24.95. It is also available for less from other outlets (the least expensive I found in paperback was Barnes and Noble for $17.21).  The least expensive version is the Kindle edition, but I just don't care for my bird books in ebook format. But that is my preference. If you like ebooks, the Kindle version is $15.72 (and of course, you can have it immediately.)