Wild Bird Wednesday 569 - Kelp Gull

On any normal day in Australia you really only have much hope of seeing 3 species of gull, and then only if you are birding in a few spots in the Southern East of the country.  It's reasonable to say that compared to many other counties we don't have many species of gull.

This is a Kelp Gull (Larus dominicanus) which is also known as the Dominican gull. It breeds on coasts and islands through much of the Southern Hemisphere. The nominate L. d. dominicanus is the subspecies found around South America, parts of Australia, and New Zealand, while L. d. vetula is a subspecies occurring around Southern Africa.

It may be common in other parts of its range - but I always like finding one (or more) as they feel special in my part of the world.  That being said, in the SE corner of Tasmania they are not hard to find.

In these pictures you can see some of the features that separate it from the Pacific Gull.  The bill, while still large, is not as large as a Kelp Gull's and it only has a yellow spot on the lower bill.  The flight shots show the lack of a tail band (although some young birds do have one) and legs are not really bright yellow.  

I know gull identification is a special skill, but it not that hard here!

As ever to join in with WBW click the link below.  SM

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter