Until recently, gulls were a group that inspired dread among birders,
due to the bewildering variety of plumage, age groups, and races, many
of which are very difficult indeed to separate, even to species. Things
changed in 2003 with the publication of Klaus Malling Olsen's Gulls of
Europe, Asia and North America, a plate-based title that made accurate
identification of gulls a realistic possibility for the first time.
Gulls of the World is a companion and successor to that seminal work.
This photographic identification guide covers all of the world's gull
species, tackling some of the stiffest ID challenges in birding. Concise
text places particular emphasis placed on field identification, with
detailed discussion of variation, and there is coverage of habitat,
status, and distribution. The text is followed by a series of
high-quality photographs, carefully selected to highlight identification
criteria and, crucially, to allow age and sub-specific separation in the
field. The species entries are complemented by an accurate color range
map.