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Gull Index

Important: Most gull-watchers know that even in the field, the perceived shade of gray on a gull can change depending on the angle that the bird is standing. Judging absolute shades of gray from photos is hazardous due to the variables of emulsion film, digital CCD receptors, and especially "auto-fix" options provided in various imaging software such as Adobe Photoshop, etc. Even more variable will be the perception created by the brand and settings of your computer monitor - my two screens show significant differences in exposure!) Scanning/preparing a photo image for display on a computer monitor can lead to significant changes in the perceived shades of gray (and all color) - look at this revised sample that now includes an example of deceptive natural lighting. Thus I ask you to be very careful when judging colors/shades on any computer images of gulls. It is possible for the person scanning/editing the image to selectively adjust any part of the image, but it is reasonable to assume that such manipulation is not done, so it is safe to assess relative shades of color between objects in the same image. Of course when it comes to gull mantle shades, this should only be done for birds that are at the same angle.

I'd like to thank all the photo contributors - especially Pep Arcos, Peter Alfrey, Tony Leukering, Michael Brothers, Don Cunningham, Ronald Klein, Peter Alfrey, Dick Newell, Norman Van Swelm, Bruce Mactavish, Greg Lasley, Ted Lee Eubanks and Willie Sekula. It is inevitable that there are some identification/aging errors at this site; while in most cases I have used the identification made by the photographer, I accept full responsibility for errors - please contact me if you feel you've found one!.

Click here to see WHAT'S NEW - updated June 26, 2015.

Note: some pages have been moved from the WHAT'S NEW list into the appropriate species section.