Birds of Seabrook Island
COAST BIRDS
Contents
Index
WORLD BIRDS
Contents
Index
ANECDOTES
Species Acct.
▲ Loons
▲ Grebes
▲ Procellarids
▲ Pelicans
▲ Herons
▲ Ibises
▲ Storks
▲ Vultures
▲ Flamingos
▲ Waterfowl
▲ Raptors
▲ Turkeys
▲ Quail
▲ Rails
▲ Limpkin
▲ Cranes
▲ Shorebirds
▲ Gulls
▲ Terns
▲ Auks
▲ Doves
▲ Parrots
▲ Cuckoos
▲ Owls
▲ Goatsuckers
▲ Swifts
▲ Hummers
▲ Kingfishers
▲ Woodpckrs
▲ Flycatchers
▲ Shrikes
▲ Vireos
▲ Crows/Jays
▲ Larks
▲ Swallows
▲ Tits
▲ Nuthatches
▲ Creepers
▲ Wrens
▲ Kinglets
▲ Gnatcatchers
▲ Thrushes
▲ Mimids
▲ Starlings
▲ Pipits
▲ Waxwings
▲ NW Warblers
▲ Tanagers
▲ NWSparrows
▲ Cardinalines
▲ Icterids
▲ Finches
▲ OWSparrows
Family Laridae - Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers
Subfamily Larinae - Gulls
The Tree of Life includes shorebirds with the Ciconiiformes.
Gulls and Terns are found along seacoasts and most inland bodies of water around the world.
Gulls have three webbed toes and their toes are not hooked. The tail is rarely forked. The upper margin of the bill is curved and the maxilla overhangs the mandible at the tip. There is no cere. They are gregarious and generally have less spectacular migrations than shorebirds
White-headed Gulls have white heads in the breeding plumage.
MARSH, BEACH, SHORE
The Mew Gull is slightly smaller than the Ring-billed Gull which it closely resembles. It has a dark eye and a small greenish bill with a small dark ring near the tip (adults) or a dark tip (immatures). In flight, there are large white spots on the wing-tips (outer primaries).
Potter: There are two populations of this species on the East Coast. The short-billed (American) Mew Gull, L. c. brachyrhynchus breeds in Alaska and western Canada. This population is seldom seen in the east - one was found on Ocracoke in 1983. The Common (European) Mew Gull, L. c. canus (Europe and Asia) is more likely to be found on our coast. There are winter reports from the Hatteras area. See Sibley for the distinctions among these populations.
KEY: ■ Seabrook list □ Kiawah list