Re: Conowingo "Common" Gull
Mary Gustafson (Mary_Gustafson@usgs.gov)
Wed, 11 Feb 1998 08:29:50 -0700
While I appreciate the fact that others have different opinions, this
record will be reviewed in the appropriate venue, which is the
Maryland DC Records Committee. Identifications of this magnitude
should not be decided on the internet or at a bird club meeting.
There are several characters on this gull that do not fit Ring-billed
Gull. A perusal of the identification literature, including Grant's
Gulls and the Lauro and Spencer, American Birds 34:111-117, should be
made by interested readers of Maryland Osprey. I would encourage all
of Maryland's birders to closely read these references and form their
own opinion. As a committee member I cannot offer my opinion.
Mary Gustafson