[Icarus]

Saw this little guy at Oyster Bay on Sunday. Can anyone tell me what it is? The Merlin app says it's a Common/Mew Gull. When I added it to my eBird list as a Common Gull (Mew Gull doesn't seem to be an option) it popped as a rare requiring further details. My field guides show the distribution of Mew Gulls all along the coast, so I'm guessing the rare relates to the Common Gull subspecies?

IMG_2340 by Bruce Albertson, on Flickr

[BirdingBC]

Hi Bruce,

The eBird and the AOU changed Mew Gull into Common Gull and Short-billed Gull. We mainly have Short-billed Gull (old Mew Gull) here on the coast and you need to be a Gull expert to pick out a Common Gull from Short-Billed.

Cheers,

[Icarus]

Ah! I remember them saying they were updating the taxonomy but I was too busy to peruse the details. That would explain why Northwestern Crow is now American Crow as well. Thanks for the information.