Gulls (Laridae)

Red-billed Gull (Larus scopulinus) - HBW 3, p. 614

French: Mouette scopuline German: Rotschnabelmöwe Spanish: Gaviota Plateada Neozelandesa

Taxonomy: Larus scopulinus J. R. Forster, 1844, Dusky Sound, South Island, New Zealand.
Forms superspecies with L. hartlaubii and L. novaehollandiae, and usually considered a race of latter. Exceptional mixed pairs with L. bulleri, producing fertile hybrids, but the two appear behaviourally isolated. Monotypic.

Distribution: New Zealand, breeding mainly on E coasts of North I and South I, and inland at L Rotorua (North I); also Stewart I, Chathams, Bounties, Snares, Aucklands and Campbell I.