Lesser Black-backed Gull (Steppe) - Don Roberson
Report

Contributor

Date

Location

Wangue--Puna Tsang Chu river and islet (from Hotel Pema Karpo)
Punakha, Bhutan
Media from this location Illustrated Checklist
Map
Map Coordinates: 27.5099856, 89.8864589
Age and sex
Adult, Unknown sex - X

Media notes

adult or near-adult

Observation details

one mid-sized adult or near-adult yellow-legged dark-eyed Larus gull was thought to be barabensis by David Erterius (with extensive experience in Europe and Middle East) but views were distant (digiscope attempted) and the bird was not seen in flight. Taxa barabensis seems the most likely gull of this ilk -- geographically - in migration in Bhutan, given the data set out in Rasmussen's 'Birds of South Asia.' It surely is in the "Heuglin's" subset of these controversial gulls, which probably are not properly assigned to "Lesser Black-backed Gull" but await better evidence of relationships. Expert opinion has been mixed; I place it in this category for the moment but lack any personal expertise on central Asian Larus gulls.

Technical information

Model
iPhone 5
ISO
50
Focal length
4.1 mm
Flash
Flash did not fire, auto
f-stop
f/2.4
Shutter speed
1/204 sec
Dimensions
900 pixels x 635 pixels
Original file size
93.46 KB