Covering 22 species found in the Western Palearctic and North America, this guide lists each species under the sections of: field identification; moult; description; geographical variation; measurements; and weight. It includes a quick reference section summarising key identification features.

The gulls are a large family of seabirds, familiar and distinctive as a group, but one of the most challenging to separate at the species level, especially in their various stages of immature plumage. This guide offers the most comprehensive treatment ever published on the gulls of North America, Europe, and Asia. Klaus Malling Olsen and Hans Larsson treat a total of forty-three species--each depicted in considerable detail, with a full description of every plumage and racial variation. The text is complemented not only by superb color paintings by Larsson, but also by 800 color photographs. Gulls explore a variety of habitats, consume a wide range of food, and are often extremely abundant. They are also great wanderers, with several American species often appearing in Western Europe and vice versa. As well as identification criteria, this book includes an up-to-date assessment of the range and status of every species, together with information on patterns on vagrancy. This important guide is published at a critical time in the development of gull taxonomy. The large white-headed gulls found in North America, Europe, and Asia comprise a superspecies complex, with the precise relationships between various components still under considerable debate. A thorough illustrative and textual treatment of the group is needed, and this book provides the most recent and complete overview. This is the essential reference to a fascinating and endlessly challenging group of birds.

This is the first complete identification guide to the skuas of the world. Skuas (and jaegers) are a fascinating and popular group of seabirds that make up a subfamily of just seven species. They can be divided into two main groups: the larger species of Catharacta skuas which are mainly found in the southern hemisphere (with Great Skua breeding in the north), and the three Stercorarius species (also known as jaegers) which breed in the northern hemisphere. Both northern and southern skuas breed at high latitudes and several species are long-distance migrants, performing spectacular migrations through most of the world's oceans, sometimes even flying overland. The individual plumage variation in some species is enormous, creating one of the most puzzling yet fascinating challenges in modern field identification. This guide is designed to enable species identification and correct ageing, and the information presented is based on years of study in the field, detailed examination of photographs and museum skins, and extensive research of the relevant literature. The comprehensive text is accompanied by twelve exquisite colour plates by Hans Larsson, illustrating a wide range of plumages. In addition, there are eight pages of colour photographs and numerous black and white photographs and drawings that show key identification features. With this book, the seabird enthusiast should at last be able to identify almost every skua encountered, whether on a seawatch or at sea.

"Det er en iagttagelse mange filosoffer har bygget på, at vor viden, efter at den har hævet sig fra sit første stadium af endnu ret tilfældig iagttagelse og derpå er gået over til strengt begrebsmæssig logisk, abstrakt tænkning, igen synes at ændre karakter, og at den, netop når den har nået sin højeste fuldkommenhed, når den er trængt dybest ned og kommet tingenes væsen nærmest, da igen er blevet konkret og umiddelbart anskuende, som om vi så tingene for os med et indre øje." "Intuition" er ikke bare Hans Larssons debut, den rammer også kernepunktet for hans filosofi og er et smukt startskud på et langt forfatterskab dedikeret til studiet af menneskets fineste åndsevne. Som Hans Larsson selv udtalte det i 1912, gjorde hans syn på intuition sig gældende i næsten alt, han har skrevet. Hans Larsson (1862-1944) var en svensk forfatter, humanist og professor i filosofi ved Lund Universitet. Hans Larsson skrev et væld af bøger om filosofi, psykologi og poesi og var blandt andre optaget af filosofferne Immanuel Kant og Baruch Spinoza.

Skuas (and jaegers) are a fascinating and popular group of seabirds that make up a subfamily of just seven species. The individual plumage variation in some species is enormous, creating one of the most fascinating challenges in modern field identification. This is the first complete identification guide to the skuas of the world. It is designed to enable species identification and correct aging, and the information presented is based on years of study in the field, detailed examination of photographs and museum skins, and extensive research of the relevant literature. The comprehensive text is accompanied by twelve exquisite color plates by Hans Larsson, illustrating a wide range of plumages. In addition, there are eight pages of color photographs and numerous black and white photographs and drawings that show key identification features. With this book, the seabird enthusiast should at last be able to identify almost every skua encountered, whether on shore or at sea.