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PLEASE! If you see any mistakes, I'm 100% sure that I have wrongly identified some birds.
So please let me know on my guestbook at the bottom of the page
So please let me know on my guestbook at the bottom of the page
  The Kelp Gull (Larus dominicanus), also known as the Dominican gull, is a gull which breeds on coasts and islands through much of the southern hemisphere. The nominate Larus dominicanus dominicanus is the subspecies found around South America, parts of Australia (where it overlaps with the Pacific gull), and New Zealand (where it is known as the southern black-backed gull or by its Māori name karoro). Larus dominicanus vetula (known as the Cape gull) is a subspecies occurring around southern Africa. The specific name comes from the Dominican Order of friars, who wear black and white habits.   Range map from www.oiseaux.net - Ornithological Portal Oiseaux.net
www.oiseaux.net is one of those MUST visit pages if you're in to bird watching. You can find just about everything there
Listen to the Kelp Gull
Sound from www.xeno-canto.org
 Description The kelp gull superficially resembles two gulls from further north in the Atlantic Ocean, the lesser black-backed gull and the great black-backed gull and is intermediate in size between these two species. This species ranges from 54 to 65 cm in total length, from 128 to 142 cm in wingspan and from 540 to 1,390 g in weight. Adult males and females weigh on average 1,000 g and 900 g respectively. Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 37.3 to 44.8 cm, the bill is 4.4 to 5.9 cm and the tarsus is 5.3 to 7.5 cm. The adult kelp gull has black upperparts and wings. The head, underparts, tail, and the small "mirrors" at the wing tips are white. The bill is yellow with a red spot, and the legs are greenish-yellow (brighter and yellower when breeding, duller and greener when not breeding). The call is a strident ki-och. Juveniles have dull legs, a black bill, a dark band in the tail, and an overall grey-brown plumage densely edged whitish, but they rapidly get a pale base to the bill and largely white head and underparts. They take three or four years to reach maturity. Subspecies There are five subspecies of kelp gull. The African subspecies Larus dominicanus vetula is sometimes split as the Cape gull, L. vetula. It has a more angular head and a smaller shorter bill. The adult has a dark eye, whereas the nominate kelp gull usually has a pale eye. Young Cape gulls have almost identical plumage to similarly aged kelp gulls. • Larus dominicanus dominicanus, (Lichtenstein, 1823): South America, Falklands, South Georgia, Australia & New Zealand • Larus dominicanus vetula, (Bruch, 1853): southern Africa • Larus dominicanus judithae, (Jiguet, 2002): subantarctic islands in the Indian Ocean • Larus dominicanus melisandae, (Jiguet, 2002): southern & southwestern Madagascar • Larus dominicanus austrinus, (Fleming, 1924): Antarctica & Antarctic islands Behaviour Kelp gulls are omnivores like most Larus gulls, and they will scavenge as well as seek suitable small prey. They gather on landfills and a sharp increase in population is therefore considered as an indicator for a degraded environment. Kelp gulls have been observed feeding on live right whales since at least 1996. The kelp gull uses its powerful beak to peck down centimetres into the skin and blubber, often leaving the whales with large open sores, some of which have been observed to be half a meter in diameter. This predatory behavior has been documented in Argentinian waters, and continues today. At rocky sites along the southern African coast, such as at Boulders Beach in Cape Town, kelp gulls (Larus dominicanus vetula) can be seen picking up shellfish and repeatedly flying up several meters and dropping them onto the rocks below in order to break them open. They have also been reported pecking the eyes out of seal pups on the coast of Namibia before attacking the blind seals in a group. The nest is a shallow depression on the ground lined with vegetation and feathers. The female usually lays 2 or 3 eggs. Both parents feed the young birds. Conservation status
 Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2.
International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  Sighted: (Date of first photo that I could use) 26 October 2017 Location: Kaiaua  Kelp Gull - Larus dominicanus - 26 October 2017 - Kaiaua
 Kelp Gull - Larus dominicanus - 26 October 2017 - Kaiaua
 Kelp Gull - Larus dominicanus - 26 October 2017 - Kaiaua
 Kelp Gull - Larus dominicanus - 26 October 2017 - Kaiaua
 Kelp Gull - Larus dominicanus - 26 October 2017 - Kaiaua
 Kelp Gull - Larus dominicanus - 26 October 2017 - Kaiaua
 Kelp Gull - Larus dominicanus - 28 October 2017 - Western Springs, Auckland
 Kelp Gull - Larus dominicanus - 28 October 2017 - Western Springs, Auckland
 Kelp Gull - Larus dominicanus - 28 October 2017 - Western Springs, Auckland
 Juvenile Kelp Gull - Larus dominicanus - 28 October 2017 - Hauraki Gulf Marine Park
 Juvenile Kelp Gull - Larus dominicanus - 28 October 2017 - Hauraki Gulf Marine Park
 Juvenile Kelp Gull - Larus dominicanus - 28 October 2017 - Hauraki Gulf Marine Park
 Kelp Gull - Larus dominicanus - 28 October 2017 - Hauraki Gulf Marine Park
PLEASE! If I have made any mistakes identifying any bird, PLEASE let me know on my guestbook 
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