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Tuesday, March 7, 2000
Gullible birders led to believe offshore feathered friends are called 'seagulls'
Confusion over names of gull species may have started with Jonathan Livingston Seagull
There is no such thing as a seagull.
There are gulls of many kinds, but "seagull" is a generic nickname, as in Jonathon Livingston Seagull. Gulls are some of the most visible birds in the area year-round. Many inexperienced birders are confused by them because of their plumage that varies with the season and age of the individual bird.
Gulls are medium to large birds, typically gray and white. Many species nest inland. Others avail themselves of offshore islands where, in close proximity to terns, pelicans and egrets, they nest in large colonies. Parents regurgitate food for their down-covered, wide-eyed chicks and place it on the tips of their beaks or on the ground in front of them.
Gulls can eat almost anything, and thanks to glands at the top of the skull that eliminates extra salt, they can drink salt water. A student of rare gulls knows to search for one at the landfill as dumps are now euphemistically called.
Of the five species of gull you can expect to find in Corpus Christi, the laughing gull is the most common. Heads of this species, which are white in winter, begin in early spring to change to black for breeding. If you look at gulls along the bayfront now you will see that most already have black heads. An occasional late blooming bird will still have a white head.
Now comes the confusion. The second most common local gull is called a ring-billed gull. Individuals of this species are slightly larger, but a rule of thumb among birders is not to rely on size when identifying a bird. An adult ring-billed, in breeding plumage, has a white head and breast, and a pale gray mantle. Its wingtips are black with white. A black band around a yellow bill is characteristic, except for juvenile and first winter birds.
Perplexing plumage
Another source of confusion in identifying gulls is that they take two to four years to reach their first full breeding plumage. Most species have a complete molt in late summer and a partial molt in spring.
In almost every flock you examine, there will be one or two larger, brownish birds. Strange as it may seem, these are the young. The darker individuals are probably laughing gulls, but ring-billed young are brownish also.
A birder friend, Marcella Jenkins, insists that these young gulls are among the most beautiful birds. She loves their subtle colors and insistent self assurance. To me, they are simply difficult to identify. These juveniles appear larger than their parents because their feathers are not worn and are therefore fluffier.
The third local species, often seen here in winter, is the herring gull. It is a large white bird with pink or flesh-colored legs. It wears a pale gray mantle and, in winter, its white head is lightly streaked with brown. The yellow bill is marked with a red spot. The juvenile of this species is also brownish.
Two other species that also appear reliably in the Coastal Bend are less common and are highly seasonal. They are Franklin's and Bonaparte's gulls.
Franklin's is a gull of the plains. Spring migration at Blucher Park is not complete until someone has spotted Franklin's gulls overhead. Migrating flocks are seen over fields being plowed for planting. Their black wingtips are distinguished by a lacey-looking white bar. Bonaparte's, in winter plumage as we see them, are very light birds with a black dot behind the eye and with orange red legs. They appear to ride high in the water. They are sometimes seen in winter off the jetties at Port Aransas or following behind a whooping crane tour boat in the intra-coastal canal.
Phyllis Yochem, a Corpus Christi
resident, has studied birds of Texas since 1960.
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