ID features

Winter California And American Herring Gull Comparison In Utah

By Mia McPherson|November 8th, 2022|Categories: American Herring Gulls, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, California Gulls, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Utah|Tags: adult, American Herring Gull, beach, Bear River, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, breeding plumage, California Gull, coastal, comparison, composite, Definitive Alternate Plumage, Definitive Basic Plumage, floating, Gulf of Mexico, gull, gulls, ice, ID features, identification, Larus californicus, Larus smithsonianus, marsh, nonbreeding plumage, river, sand, side by side, water, wetlands, winter, winter plumage|

Since I frequently get asked which is which I thought this would be a good time to do a winter California and American Herring Gull comparison and ID feature post.

Mountain Plovers – Comparing two similar looking species

By Mia McPherson|April 23rd, 2013|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Black-bellied Plovers, Davis County, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Killdeer, Mountain Plovers, Pinellas County, Rarities, Utah|Tags: Anarhynchus montanus, bird ID, Black-bellied Plover, Charadrius vociferus, comparing species, ID features, identification, Killdeer, Mountain Plover, plover, plovers, Pluvialis squatarola, rare, rarity|

There are a few similar species that occur in Utah and surrounding states that could be confused with Mountain Plovers.