Update: In April 2011 The TBRC accepted this as a Slaty-backed Gull - the first First-cycle bird to be accepted in Texas (and possibly anywhere in the Lower 48).
April 11, 2007: added flight shot of a SBGU from Japan, for comparison - see flight pics:
Feb 23, 2007: added new pic at bottom.
This First Cycle-type gull with the characteristics of Slaty-backed
Gull (Larus schistisagus) was photographed February 21, 2007 in the Coastal Plain near Houston and Galveston, Texas:
April 11, 2007: Thanks to the Ujiharas I can show this almost identical SBGU from just five days earlier in Japan:
back to the Texas bird:
added Feb 23, 2007: