FIRST VERIFIED RECORD OF THE MEW GULL FOR IDAHO

Abstract

The first report of the Mew Gull (Larus canus) for Idaho was an unverified sighting I made of two adults on a gravel bar in the Clearwater River at Lewiston, Nez Perce County, on 23 April 1978 (Weber 1981).

To my knowledge, the first verified record is of a subadult bird I photographed at the public beach at Coeur d'Alene, Kootenai County, on 22 July 1982. This gull, which had several flecks of black on a white tail but was otherwise in adult plumage, was in a flock of about 50 Ring-billed Gulls (Larus delawarensis).

The original photograph (on file at the Idaho Museum of Natural History, Pocatello) clearly shows the field marks of this species: unmarked, short greenish-yellow bill; greenish-yellow legs; and dark eyes. In addition, the Mew Gull was slightly smaller and had a darker mantle than the nearby Ring-billed Gulls. The black and white print (Fig. 1) shows the short, unmarked bill and dark eyes.