Gulls are perhaps one of the most difficult bird families
to get to grips with and, indeed, even the experts agree that
there is still much to learn about the taxonomic status of
many species/subspecies. This weighty book, published by Helm,
is on hand for those birders wishing to learn more about gull
distribution, identification and, perhaps most importantly,
moult patterns.
This excellent book contains authoritative text concerning
the identification of previously little known species/subspecies
of gulls and does an excellent job of conveying the subtle
differences to look for in the field with a combination of
plates and numerous photographs for each taxon. Each species
(as recognized by the authors) has its own section in the
book with subsections including "identification",
"moult", "geographical variation" and
"distribution and migration" along with a distributional
map which is not only useful for narrowing down the possibilities
in any given location, but can prove helpful in predicting
which rarities could be found and where they could show up.
Although the accounts for each taxon are extensive and complete,
they are not prosaic and are well-ordered so that the reader
does not get lost in never-ending text, preserving the readability
of this publication.
The visual impact of this book is also very impressive too
with 96 full-colour plates, beautifully illustrated by Hans
Larsson, which show each species in a full range of plumages
both in flight and standing; each plate is nicely spaced and
arranged making them pleasing to the eye and not confusing
allowing the relavent plumage details to be seen clearly.
As well as this there are over 800 photographs with which
the book further illustrates each species/taxon not only helping
in identification and understanding moult but which also punctuate
the text, enhancing the book's attention-keeping qualities.
Adding to this are the range maps which are full page-width
and well annotated making them easy to use and understand.
Whilst the body of the book deals with the many species of
gulls, there is also an interesting introduction which explains
the taxonomies used within the book, how the book is structured
and gives extremely useful advice on which features to look
for in gull identification, including notes on how to age
gulls and recognize hybrids by studying plumage details alongside
the time of the year in which these features occur. For anyone
beginning to try and understand the taxonomies and identification
of gulls, this section is extremely important and illuminating.
Although this guide is perhaps too large to regularly carry
around for most birders, its size is certainly not prohibitive
to those specializing in gulls and can certainly fit into
a car door pocket/glovebox for reference. This is an essential
source of information for birders hoping to identify gulls
as they travel worldwide or for those hoping to pick out the
unusual from large groups of birds.
However, it should be noted that there are few problems with
this publication and perhaps one of the biggest criticisms
I could level at it is that there could be more use of comparative
illustrations to help separate similar species, although there
is a section near the beginning of the book which compares
large gulls. One other slight downfall of this book is that
it was perhaps published too early and with an increased knowledge
of gull taxonomy it was already slightly outdated in parts,
even on publication, and certainly much has been learned since
publication. A taxonomic tree to show the relationship between
the taxons covered would have been very welcome and perhaps
any future publications should carry this to illustrate these
relationships in a simple way.
These issues aside, "Gulls" is certainly a superb
source of information on this group of difficult species,
providing top-quality plates, a wide variety of photographs
and an unrivalled amount of information on a group of birds
that many birders struggle to deal with.
Gulls
of Europe, Asia & North America is one of
the best bird guides I have used and birders throughout the
world would do well to add it to their collection; certainly
it is one of the reference guides that I delve into most frequently
and my copy is well-thumbed.
If you are a birder in Thailand, considering the lack of quality
plates and information on gulls in all the field guides for
the region, this publication is an essential addition to the
library in attempting to get to grips with the gulls which
turn up in small numbers in the Gulf of Thailand as rarities
and scarce winter visitors. This guide is absolutely essential
if you want to get to grips with all the confusing plumages
of gulls not only in Thailand, but around the world.
Score: 9.5/10
Gulls
of Europe, Asia & North America is a wonderful point of
reference when I am leading birding and photography tours in
South Korea where gulls are so abundant; South
Korea Winter Birding Tour & South
Korea Winter Bird Photography Tour. Take a look at the itineraries
and upcoming dates for these tours which are some of my favourite
birding trips in the world.
More Top Books on Gulls
Gulls
of the World - Published in early 2018 this photographic
guide to the world's gulls is a companion to Gulls of Europe,
Asia & North America with updated information and taxonomy.
With informative and concise text alongside top quality
photographs this is nice addition for gull identification.
Gulls:
A Guide to Identification - This ground-breaking
work on gulls follows an old taxonomy but contains all the
subspecies that have now been elevated to species level.
This is a great companion to newer publications and contains
extremely informative text that makes it still relevant.
Gulls
of the World
Gulls:
A Guide to Identification
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