Description
Book SynopsisThis eagerly awaited guide offers the most comprehensive treatment ever published on the gulls of Europe, Asia and North America. A total of 43 species is treated, and every species is described in considerable detail, with a full description of each plumage and racial variation. Gulls are intelligent, versatile, opportunistic, and ecological generalists. As such, they exploit a variety of habitats, both coastal and inland, take a wide range of food, and are often extremely abundant. They are also great wanderers, with several American species regularly appearing in Western Europe and vice versa. As well as identification criteria, this book includes an up-to-date assessment of the range and status of every species, together with information on patterns of vagrancy. This important guide is published at a critical time in the development of dull taxonomy. The large, white-headed forms occurring in the region comprise a superspecies complex, with the precise relationships between t
Trade Review"A monumental effort by the authors and takes a worthy 'podium finish' in this year's award (the BB/BTO Best Bird Book of the Year 2005)." British Birds (Feb 2006) "(This book) has taken gull identification to a very advanced level and argues for some controversial species splits." Wildlife and Countryside (Dec 2005)
Table of ContentsPreface Acknowledgements Introduction Species Accounts (33-582)
Appendix of Additional Species References Index