Gulls Simplified: A Comparative Approach to Identification by Pete Dunne and Kevin T. Karlson
Gulls can be a tough group of birds to identify. Yes, as a whole gulls are pretty conspicuous, standing around on the beach, flying not far offshore, or harassing you in a parking lot. But what are you looking at really? Is that a second summer gull? Juvenile? Subadult? Gulls go through so many seasonal plumage variations that it can leave the average birder feeling frustrated. However, if you are up for the challenge of setting your gulls straight, look no further than Gulls Simplified: A Comparative Approach to Identification.
Gulls Simplified was written and photographed by two very accomplished New Jersey birders: Pete Dunne and Kevin T. Karlson. They have both authored field guides and birding books so I was not surprised at the high quality and breadth of information and photographs in Gulls Simplified. (Kevin T. Karlson co-authored The Shorebird Guide, a field guide that I highly recommend for all birders).
Dunne points out in his introduction how many field guides are plumage driven. However, since gull plumage varies significantly, approaching gull identification through the lens of body structure, size, geography, and behavior would be more helpful. The book starts with basic gull id strategies, issues, and a small section about gull-like birds.
The species accounts are broken down into 5 main sections: “small to medium-sized gulls and hooded gulls”, “gray-backed white-headed gulls”, “large dark-backed gulls”, “dark horse gulls (rare or unlikely gulls), and “hybrid gulls”. There is also a chapter that features quizzes where the reader can test themselves on challenging ids. Keep in mind that this book features North American Gulls, but could be an interesting read for someone not from that region of the world.
My favorite feature of Gulls Simplified are the beautiful , high quality gull photographs. There are hundreds of exquisite gull photos that captures the fine details of the bird’s plumage and demonstrates the size/structure strategy that Dunne teaches us in the introduction. I especially love when the authors have a block of about 6-8 photos of the same species to compare its plumage changes as the bird grows and molts. The captions are also very helpful and descriptive. I’ve heard discussion from birders in the past about photographic versus hand-drawn/painted field guides. While I think both have their benefits (for example, I believe one of the top field guides is the Sibley’s 2nd edition which is all paintings), I think photographs are the best medium for Gulls Simplified since it reflects what you would really see in the field.
The other feature I enjoy about Gulls Simplified are the photo quizzes. Not only is there a section in the back of the guide with quizzes, but they are also interspersed throughout the chapters. With the quizzes you can not only practice the gull id skills you’ve learned, but identify other bird species you might find mixed in with a gull flock.
Dunne and Karlson bring up an interesting topic in the section called “Traditional Gull ID Problems”. According to the authors, they believe that sometimes people make gull id “complicated” because they are so busy looking for “rare” gulls in their region, making the identifications more about plumage than anything else. By accepting the idea that these “rare” gulls are indeed rare and unlikely to be spotted in certain regions, then we can “simplify” our gull id experience by focusing on our regional gulls that we are likely to spot. Not that those rare gulls can’t happen, but if we learn to appreciate our local gulls then a rarity would be more easily recognizable and special.
I highly recommend Gulls Simplified for all birders who have any sort of interest in gulls. This guide features interesting information, wonderful photographs, and useful strategies to help make your gull identification experiences easier and more rewarding.
What is your favorite gull species? Tell me in the comments! (Mine is the Ring-billed Gull)
Check out some of my other book reviews:
- Baby Birds by Julie Zickefoose
- The Seabird’s Cry by Adam Nicolson
- The Warbler Guide by Tom Stephenson and Scott Whittle
- The Narrow Edge by Deborah Cramer
- The Most Perfect Thing by Tim Birkhead
BirdNation 