With more than 50 gull species in the world, this family of seabirds poses some of the greatest field identification challenges of any bird group: age-related plumage changes, extensive variations within species, frequent hybridization, and complex distribution.
Gulls of the World takes on these challenges and is the first book to provide a comprehensive look at these birds. Concise text emphasizes field identification, with in-depth discussion of variations as well as coverage of habitat, status, and distribution. Abundant photographs highlight identification criteria and, crucially, factor in age and subspecific field separation. Informative species accounts are accompanied by detailed color range maps.
Gulls of the World is the most authoritative photographic guide to this remarkable bird family.
- The first book to provide in-depth coverage of all the world’s gull species
- More than 600 stunning color photographs
- Concise text looks at variations, habitat, status, and distribution
- Informative species accounts and color range maps
Klaus Malling Olsen is widely regarded as the world's foremost gull expert. His previous books include Terns of Europe and North America and Gulls of North America, Europe, and Asia (both Princeton).
"Klaus Malling Olsen is to be commended for another colossal gull guide. Gulls of the World is an unprecedented achievement that fills a great demand. The text will be of good use to anyone wishing to advance their knowledge of gulls and sharpen their gull identification skills. . . . Thanks to the updated range maps, recent identification information, and some recent taxonomic notes, we would certainly recommend making the relatively small investment to own this guide."—Amar Ayyash & Peter Adriaens, ABA Blog
"Gull photos in this book (and others) are, for good reason, well-lit closeups of individuals. How else to capture ID variances? There are photos in Olsen’s book, however, that capture the essence of gull — birds in flocks loafing on a beach, in the air, a cloud of gulls following a fishing boat. Gulls individually are to be identified. Gulls in a flock are to be enjoyed."—Jim Williams, Wingnut blog
"In a birding world that celebrates identification, there are surprisingly few articles and books on gull identification. So, we need to lift a glass to 2018, a year that has given usGulls of the World: A Photographic Field Guide by Klaus Malling Olsen and Gulls Simplified: A Comparative Approach to Identification by Pete Dunne and Kevin T. Karlson. . . . [T]he bar here is high, there are expectations of excellent writing, high-quality photographs, a friendly yet educational approach, and a high level of expertise. . . . And, yes, they succeed on all points."—Donna Schulman, 10,000 Birds Book Review
