Date: 4/20/26 7:05 am From: Nick Lethaby <nlethaby...> Subject: Re: [BIRDWG01] What, truly, is "Nelson's Gull?"
Based on my experience in the 90s birding in NE Asia and the SF Bay Area, I
would say that Nelson's Gulls are commoner in the W USA than in NE Asia.
Nick Lethaby
Goleta, CA
<nlethaby...>
Mobile: 805 284 6200
On Mon, Apr 20, 2026, 4:34 AM <chucao...> wrote:
> Bob
>
> There are a bunch of Vega x Glaucous photos on eBird, including some I
> have seen in Japan. They are not common though, so the few photos may be
> partly an issue of the hybrid itself not being all that common?
>
> https://media.ebird.org/catalog?birdOnly=true&taxonCode=x01132 >
> Alvaro
>
> Alvaro Jaramillo
> <alvaro...>
> www.alvarosadventures.com
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NBHC ID-FRONTIERS Frontiers of Field Identification <
> <BIRDWG01...> On Behalf Of Robert O'Brien
> Sent: Sunday, April 19, 2026 11:33 PM
> To: <BIRDWG01...>
> Subject: Re: [BIRDWG01] What, truly, is "Nelson's Gull?"
>
> Yep, and thus Nelson's Gull does not appear in the Macaulay Bird Library.
> GlaucousXHerring has lots of photos though
> https://search.macaulaylibrary.org/catalog?taxonCode=x01131 >
> As for VegaX,.... there are very few photos and 'they' are punting on what
> they are. The listing is American Herring/Vega/European Herring x Glaucous
> Gull (hybrid) - Larus
> https://search.macaulaylibrary.org/catalog?taxonCode=nelgul >
> If you select a photo, then the original checklist will be available.
>
> Bob OBrien Portland OR
>
>
> On Sun, Apr 19, 2026 at 7:27 PM <chucao...> wrote:
>
> > Tony
> >
> > Amar suggested this some years back. But in the end it really does
> > not matter in the usage of the term "Nelson's Gull" as it is not a valid
> taxon.
> > It does not need to follow any specific rules of taxonomy or naming.
> > So if we have taken Nelson's Gull to mean American Herring x Glaucous,
> > then we should keep using that even if the first Nelson's Gull might
> > have been something else.
> >
> > Alvaro
> >
> > Alvaro Jaramillo
> > <alvaro...>
> > www.alvarosadventures.com
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: NBHC ID-FRONTIERS Frontiers of Field Identification <
> > <BIRDWG01...> On Behalf Of <greatgrayowl...>
> > Sent: Sunday, April 19, 2026 6:12 PM
> > To: <BIRDWG01...>
> > Subject: [BIRDWG01] What, truly, is "Nelson's Gull?"
> >
> > Hi all:
> > It suddenly came to me when doing some review work that, with the
> > recent taxonomic changes in what we used to call Herring Gull (sensu
> > largo), the moniker "Nelson's Gull" is possibly not correctly
> > associated with Glaucous Gull x American Herring Gull. Given that the
> > type specimen was collected in June at "St. Michael's" (now St.
> > Michael) on the western shore of Alaska due E of St. Lawrence Island,
> > might this hybrid be referable to Glaucous x Vega? I don't know where
> > the specimen is currently housed (it was originally deposited in the
> > US Nat'l Mus.; 97253; Henshaw 1884), but it might be quite useful for
> > someone to track that thing down. Perhaps that task has already been
> completed. If so, I'd love to know the result.
> > Henshaw, H. W. 1884. On a New Gull from Alaska. The Auk 1 (3):250-252.
> > (On a New Gull from Alaska) Tony Tony LeukeringDenver, COeBird blog
> > eBird commentaryPhotos
> >
> > Archives: https://listserv.ksu.edu/birdwg01.html > >
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>
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