Gulls of North America, Europe, and Asia

This is the definitive guide to the members of this very difficult family for this region. Gulls have so many plumages it is maddening. They mature in 2-4 years and most of them have a different winter and summer plumage every year until they become full adults. Then there are the juveniles, hybrids, aberrant plumages, subspecies, etc, etc. It stands to reason that to fully cover this family you will need lots and lots of illustrations. This guide has them. The vast majority of species has one full page plate of paintings for standing birds and one for birds in flight. I don’t know if any guide could possibly show all the possible plumages, but this one seems to come close. In addition, each species account has numerous photographs of birds in different plumages and positions.

Important: The first printing of this book (2003) was riddled with printing mistakes and had to be recalled. The corrected version was released in 2004 and should have the words “Reprinted with corrections 2004” below the publisher’s address on the reverse of the title page.

And now the bad news – it appears this book is out of print and must be ordered used. And the really bad news – it’s expensive. At the moment (01/07/2008) the cheapest seems to be $70. There is also an European version for about the same price. It has a slightly different title (Gulls of Europe, Asia and North America), but I assume the content is the same. Your best bets are probably BookFinder or eBay. Keep an eye out for a cheap copy, and if you find one jump on it.

For more information visit Princeton University Press