Spent over an hour at a nearby fishing village in Jinshitan yesterday after work. I believe the Yellow-legged Vega Gulls seen yesterday and in a previous post are sub-species birulai. This is according to something I read on Oriental Bird Images (OBI) where someone posted a very similar bird and called it ssp birulai. They cited Olsen and Larrson pg. 344. I don't have that Gull book on hand (I should) but this seems like a likely possibility. Please comment if you agree or disagree. I don't think they are dark-mantled enough to be Heuglin's. To throw more confusion into the mix, one of the Yellow-legged gulls looked more like Mongolian than Vega.... I'll attach some photos here. Everyone labelled Vega is what I believe to be ssp birulai.
I am wading into new territory here so if I am wrong I'd like to know. What do others think?
The list is from yesterday and one short trip last weekend.
Common Pheasant
Common Shelduck – 800
Falcted Duck – 150
Eurasian Wigeon – 2
Mallard – 100
Spot-billed Duck – 30
Common Goldeneye
Red-breasted Merganser
Pelagic Cormorant – 6
Eurasian Kestrel - 3
Merlin - 1
Peregrine Falcon - 2
Hen Harrier - 1
Eurasian Sparrowhawk – 2
Upland Buzzard – 1
Eastern Buzzard – 1
Black-tailed Gull – 200
Common Gull – 80
Vega Gull ssp birulai - 5
Mongolian Gull – 25
Black-headed gull – 6
Oriental Turtle Dove
Great Tit
Eurasian Skylark – 75
Chinese Bulbul
Daurian Redstart