Vega Gull?, Choshi, Japan (1 Viewer)

Hello..

I saw this rather striking gull at Choshi, Japan last week. The most common large white-headed gull in the area is Vega Gull (Larus vegae) but I guess other species (eg American Herring) are possible.

Does anyone know if this is within the variation of Vega? I can't seem to find any similar images anywhere. The primary pattern looks ok for this species but the bill is quite pale with hardly any red on the gonys.

My assumption is that it is a heavily streaked Vega but I thought I'd post the images to see what others thought.. In any case a very smart individual!

Thanks..

Terry

I can't help with the ID, but out of curiosity, is Vega a subspecies of the Herring Gull, or is it a seperate species?

It is currently considered a separate species.... although massive respect to anyone who can identify one in Europe or North America!

I don't think the AOU has recognized it as a full species yet. If so, I missed the bulletin...

We are a little behind the euro's when it comes to gull taxonomy, IMO.

Yes, I think it may be considered a subspecies of American Herring or Herring Gull by some. I can see why!

Terry,

Certainly an interesting bird. Much more streaking than is normal for winter Vega. The bill shape also has a certain "longness" to it resembling Pallas's. It must be a Vega however, as I don't know what else it could be.

Tom

Terry Townshend said:

Yes, I think it may be considered a subspecies of American Herring or Herring Gull by some. I can see why!

Click to expand...

Collinson et al 2008 advise of a strong case for Vega Gull being treated as separate from American Herring Gull (several DNA techniques and morphology), based on Sangster et al 2007, the corollary being that Herring Gull was much more distantly related. The interesting aspect that comes out of this is the relationships that an increasing number of North American species have been found to have with eastern Palearctic species as far west as about 120°E, for example some large grey shrike and some swallow taxa. The conclusion I draw from background reading is that this circumstance probably reflects the geographic details of successive glaciations and the pattern of usable niches that developed, some separating populations, others letting long-separated populations meet again.
MJB

Collinson, JM, DT Parkin, AG Knox, G Sangster and L Svensson. 2008. Species boundaries in the Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gull complex. Brit. Birds 101(7): 340-363.
Sangster, G, JM Collinson, AG Knox, DT Parkin and L Svensson, 2007. Taxonomic recommendations for British Birds – fourth report. Ibis 149: 853-857.