Chroicocephalus ridibundus Status: Rare casual fall migrant. Documentation: Description: 12 Aug 1979 Walgren Lake, Sheridan Co (Rosche 1982; Bray et al 1986). Taxonomy: Gill et al (2022), Clements et al (2016), and Pyle (2008) consider this species monotypic, which is followed here. Several authors recognize two subspecies: nominate ridibundus, an Eurasian and local eastern North […]
[IVORY GULL]
Pagophila eburnea Status: No accepted records. Taxonomy: No subspecies are recognized. Comments: A report of an adult seen briefly 12 Oct 1986 in Antelope Co (Marsh and Marsh 1986) was not accepted by the NOURC (Mollhoff 1987). It was described as a “white gull” with “black legs and feet and a black bill”; “while the […]
ANCIENT MURRELET
Synthliboramphus antiquus Status: Accidental in fall. Documentation: Specimen: UNSM ZM14801, 27 Oct 1929 Burt Co (Swenk 1933). Taxonomy: Two subspecies are recognized: antiquus over most of the range, and microrhynchos restricted to the Russian Commander Islands (Gill et al 2022), although the validity of microrhynchos has been questioned (Gaston and Shoji 2020). The identity of […]
LONG-TAILED JAEGER
Stercorarius longicaudus Status: Accidental in spring. Rare casual fall migrant statewide. Documentation: Specimen: UNSM ZM13093, 1 Sep 1952 Lancaster Co (Baumgarten and Rapp 1953). Taxonomy: Two subspecies are recognized (Gill et al 2022): longicaudus of northern Scandinavia and northern Russia, and pallescens of eastern Siberia, arctic North America, and Greenland. Nebraska birds are presumed pallescens. […]
PARASITIC JAEGER
Stercorarius parasiticus Status: Rare casual fall migrant statewide. Documentation: Specimen: UNSM ZM12309, 23-24 Aug 1968 Sheridan Co (Gates 1969). Taxonomy: No subspecies are recognized. Fall: There are seven documented records. See Comments for additional records probably this species and reported as “Jaeger sp”. 23-24 Aug 1968 immature near Hay Springs, Sheridan Co (specimen cited above) […]
POMARINE JAEGER
Stercorarius pomarinus Status: Rare casual fall migrant statewide. Documentation: Specimen: Olson Collection at UNK, 8 Oct 1917 Buffalo Co (Swenk, Notes After 1925; Bray et al 1986). Taxonomy: No subspecies are recognized. This species, which has DNA almost identical to that of Great Skua (Stercorarius [Catharacta] skua), may have arisen from a hybridization event involving […]