Cape / Kelp Gull (2 Viewers)

[Andy Adcock]

I posed this question in the rarity forum as there is currently a bird in the UK being referred to as Cape Gull, but got no reply.

Which authority calls this Cape rather than Kelp Gull, not Clements, IOC or even ebird?

I presume the name refers to L. d vetula?

 

[Xenospiza]

Yes, it is the name for Kelp Gull ssp vetula.

I don't think Kelp Gull ssp dominicensis has been seen in the WP, so using "Kelp Gull" might cause some nervousness.

Using subspecific names in the rarity alerts is not unusual (e.g. Ashy-headed Wagtail, Black Brant, American Black Tern), but I cannot think of a bird where the subspecific name is used when the "standard" subspecies does not occur. American vs African Royal Tern probably comes closest?

 

[l_raty]

I don't think Kelp Gull ssp dominicensis has been seen in the WP, so using "Kelp Gull" might cause some nervousness.

The identification of the previous British individual as vetula was not accepted either, though.

Changes to the British List (19 Sept 2023) - British Ornithologists' Union

The British Ornithologists’ Union Records Committee (BOURC) has accepted the following to the British List. View the British List The following species has been added to Category A of the British List: Kelp Gull Larus dominicanus One, third-calendar-year, Grafham Water, Cambridgeshire, 1-10...

bou.org.uk

Kelp Gull — Historical Rare Birds

Larus dominicanus Lichtenstein, MHK, 1823 (0, 1)

www.historicalrarebirds.info