Sheathbills |
Chionis alba Pale-faced Sheathbill
(not globally threatened)
Monotypic
Also known as Wattled Sheathbill,
Snowy Sheathbill, American Sheathbill, Greater Sheathbill, Snowy Paddy
Chionis minor Black-faced Sheathbill
(not globally threatened)
Monotypic
Also known as Lesser Sheathbill
or Lesser Paddy
Gulls |
Larus scoresbii Dolphin Gull
(not globally threatened)
Monotypic
Also known as Scoresby's Gull
Larus pacificus Pacific Gull
(NEAR THREATENED)
L. p. pacificus
L. p. georgii
Also known as Large-billed Gull
or Australian Gull.
Larus belcheri Band-tailed Gull
(not globally threatened)
Monotypic
Also known as Simeon's Gull
Larus atlanticus Olrog's Gull
(VULNERABLE)
Monotypic (formally considered race
of L. belcheri)
Also known as Simeon's Gull
Larus crassirostris Black-tailed
Gull (not globally threatened)
Monotypic
ALso known as Temminck's Gull
Larus modestus Grey Gull (not
globally threatened)
Monotypic
Larus heermanni Heermann's Gull
(NEAR THREATENED)
Monotypic
Larus leucophthalmus White-eyed
Gull (VULNERABLE)
Monotypic
Larus hemprichii Sooty Gull
(not globally threatened)
Monotypic
Also known as Hemprich's Gull or
Aden Gull
Larus canus Mew Gull (not
globally threatened)
L. c. canus (Common Gull)
L. c. heinei (Eastern Common Gull)
L. c. kamtschatschensis (Kamtchatka
Gull)
L. c. brachyrhynchus (Short-billed
Gull)
Larus audouinii Audouin's Gull
(CONSERVATION DEPENDENT)
Monotypic
Larus delawarensis Ring-billed
Gull (not globally threatened)
Monotypic
Larus californicus California
Gull (not globally threatened)
L. c. albertaensis
L. c. californicus
Larus marinus Great Black-backed
Gull (not globally threatened)
Monotypic
Larus dominicanus Kelp Gull
(not globally threatened)
Monotypic
Also known as Dominican Gull (NZ),
Southern Black-backed Gull (Africa and Australia)
Larus glaucescens Glaucous-winged Gull (not globally threatened)
Larus occidentalis Western Gull (not globally threatened)
Larus livens Yellow-footed Gull (not globally threatened)
Larus hyperboreus Glaucous Gull (not globally threatened)
Larus glaucoides Iceland Gull (not globally threatened)
Larus argentatus Herring Gull (not globally threatened)
Larus armenicus Armenian Gull
(not globally threatened)
Monotypic
Larus schistisagus Slaty-backed
Gull (not globally threatened)
Monotypic
Also known as Pacific Gull or Kamchatka
Gull(!)
Larus cachinnans Yellow-legged Gull (not globally threatened)
Larus fuscus Lesser Black-backed Gull (not globally threatened)
Larus ichthyaetus Great Black-headed
Gull (not globally threatened)
Monotypic
Larus brunnicephalus Brown-headed Gull
(not globally threatened)
Monotypic
Also known as Indian Black-headed
Gull
Larus cirrocephalus Grey-headed
Gull (not globally threatened)
L. c. cirrocephalus
L. c. poiocephalus
Also known as Grey-hooded Gull
Larus hartlaubii King Gull
(not globally threatened)
Monotypic
Also known as Hartlaub's Gull
Larus novaehollandiae Silver Gull
(not globally threatened)
L. n. novaehollandiae
L. n. forsteri
Larus scopulinus Red-billed Gull
(not globally threatened)
Monotypic
Larus bulleri Black-billed Gull
Larus maculipennis Brown-hooded Gull
Larus ridibundus Common Black-headed Gull
Larus genei Slender-billed Gull
Larus philadelphia Bonaparte's Gull
Larus saundersi Saunders's Gull (ENDANGERED)
Larus serranus Andean Gull
Larus melanocephalus Mediterranean Gull
Larus relictus Relict Gull (NEAR THREATENED)
Larus fuliginosus Lava Gull (VULNERABLE)
Larus atricilla Laughing Gull
Larus pipixcan Franklin's Gull
Larus minutus Little Gull
Pagophila eburnea Ivory Gull
Rhodostethia rosea Ross's Gull
Xema sabini Sabine's Gull
Creagrus furcatus Swallow-tailed Gull
Rissa tridactyla Black-legged Kittiwake
Rissa brevirostris Red-legged
Kittiwake (VULNERABLE)
| Systematics and evolution of
the Skuas
Multiple sources of evidence show that the skuas (Stercorariidae) are a monophyletic group, closely related to gulls. On morphological and behavioural evidence the Stercorariidae are divided into two widely divergent genera, Catharacta and Stercorarius, consistent with observed levels of nuclear and mitochondrial gene divergence. Catharacta skuas are large-bodied and with the exception of Great Skua, breed in the Southern Hemisphere. Stercorarius skuas (otherwise known as jaegers) are smaller bodied and breed exclusively in the Northern Hemisphere. Evidence from both mitochondrial and nuclear genomes and from ectoparasitic Phthiraptera lice shows that the Pomarine Jaeger, which has been recognized as being somewhat intermediate in certain morphological and behavioural characteristics, is much more closely related to species in the genus Catharacta, especially to the Northern Hemisphere-breeding Great skua, than it is to the other two Stercorarius skuas, the Parasitic Jaeger and Long-tailed Jaeger. Cohen et al., 1997 have proposed three possible explanations to account for this discordant aspect of skua phylogeny: (i) the segregation of ancestral polymorphism, (ii) convergent evolution of morphology and behaviour or (iii) inter-generic hybridization. The available evidence from both nuclear and mitochondrial genomes does not exclude any of these hypotheses. Thus, resolution of this enigma of skua phylogeny awaits further work. Cohen BL, Baker AJ, Blechschmidt K, Dittmann DL, Furness RW, Gerwin JA, Helbig AJ, de Korte J, Marshall HD, Palma RL, Peter HU, Ramli R, Siebold I, Willcox MS, Wilson RH, Zink RM (1997) Enigmatic phylogeny of skuas. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B Biol. Sci. 264(1379): p181-90. |
Skuas and Jaegers |
Catharacta skua Great
Skua (not globally threatened)
Monotypic
Also known as Bonxie or Northern
Skua
Catharacta antarctica Southern
Skua (not globally threatened)
Taxonomy complex and controvertial.
Two subspecies recognized:
C. a. antarctica,
C. a. hamiltoni
Catharacta lonnbergi Brown Skua (not globally threatened)
Catharacta chilensis Chilean Skua
(not globally threatened)
Monotypic
Catharacta maccormicki South
Polar Skua (not globally threatened)
Monotypic
Also known as MacCormick's Skua
or Antarctic Skua
Stercorarius pomarinus Pomarine
Jaeger (not globally threatened)
Monotypic
Also known as Pomarine Skua or Pomatarhine
Jaeger
Stercorarius parasiticus Parasitic
Jaeger (not globally threatened)
Monotypic
Also known as Arctic Skua
Stercorarius longicaudus Long-tailed
Jaeger (not globally threatened)
S. l. longicaudus
S. l. pallescens
Also known as Long-tailed Skua
Skimmers |
| "No sooner has the dusk of evening
arrived than the Skimmers begin to disperse, rise from their place of rest
singly, in pairs, or in parties from three or four to eight or ten, apparently
according to the degree of hunger they feel, and proceed in different directions
along parts of the shores previously known to them, sometimes going up
tide-rivers to a considerable distance. They spend the whole night on wing,
searching diligently for food. Of this I had ample and satisfactory proof
when ascending the St. John river in East Florida, in the United States
schooner Spark. The hoarse cries of the Skimmers never ceased more than
an hour, so that I could easily know whether they were passing upwards
or downwards in the dark. And this happened too when I was at least a hundred
miles from the mouth of the river."
John James Audubon (1840) in Birds of America, Vol. VII. |
Rynchops niger Black Skimmer
(not globally threatened)
R. n. niger
R. n. cinerascens
R. n. intercedens
Also known as American Skimmer
Rynchops flavirostris African
Skimmer (not globally threatened)
Monotypic
Also known as Scissorbill
Rynchops albicollis Indian Skimmer
(VULNERABLE)
Monotypic
Also known as Scissorbill
Grant, P.J. (1986) Gulls: A guide to identification. 2nd edition. Academic Press.
Sangster, G. (1999) Relationships among gulls: new approaches. Dutch Birding 21: p207-218
Copyright © 2002 All rights
reserved. Angus Wilson
Back
to the Seabird List Home Page
To the Marine
Mammal List Page
To the
World's Best Pelagics
Back to the
Ocean Wanderers Home Page