GULLS have never been glamorous, or at least not until relatively recently. Birdwatchers did not bother much with them, and serious ornithologists preferred to study waders or wildfowl. Then along came the modern birder, relishing the challenge of sorting out and identifying one of the most confusing of bird groups. Gulls of Europe, Asia and North America tells the story so far.
Where there was once just the herring gull, we now know that there is a whole group of closely related and very similar species in the same complex. Armed with this book, you should be able to separate with confidence an American herring gull from a herring gull, and an Armenian gull from a Caspian gull. You might even put a name to a vega gull.
Authors Klaus Malling Olsen and Hans Larsson chose to emphasise identification with highly detailed accounts, backed by more than 800 photographs and 96 colour plates. The book also covers distribution and migration, but there is nothing on biology or behaviour. There is simply not enough space. Nor will you find a mention of the common seagull. It became extinct a few years ago when bird enthusiasts pointed out that these birds are gulls, never seagulls.
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Gulls of Europe, Asia and North America
Christopher Helm
