By popular demand, this month’s quiz bird is a member of that widely loved family Laridae! And to make the quiz even more fun, the subject is not a full adult! Wow! Have you ever received a more wonderful Northern Hemisphere–Winter Solstice gift?

Okay, let us take a few deep breaths and calm ourselves from the excitement so we can focus on the important features presented in the photo. First, the bird has strong, pink legs, and that fact removes a whopping eight of the 34 gull species on the ABA Area list! We’re almost there!

Wait, wait. Don’t tell me…that we’re getting excited again.

Deep breaths. Close your eyes. Feel the calmness and solidity of the planet seep in. Those of you taking this quiz while at sea, take in the solidity of your knowledge of “Cookilaria” petrel ID.

Are we once again calm? Good. Let’s continue by divining the intent of that other modifier of our quiz bird’s legs: “strong.” These legs are not the dainty things that various small gulls manage to use to be upright on land. No, these are REAL legs; legs with some heft, some weight, some gravity, legs that are pink. These are the legs of a big gull, and by golly willikers, we will devote serious effort to this puzzle, this poser, this perplexer, as the bird’s legs demand that of us!

Photos and answers are supplied by Tony Leukering, a field ornithologist based in in Colorado. He has strong interests in bird migration, distribution, and identification. He has worked for five different bird observatories from coast to coast, has conducted hawk counts in Michigan, New Jersey, Colorado, and Texas, and seabird counts in Michigan, New Jersey, and California. Tony considers himself particularly adept at taking quiz photos—that is to say, bad pictures! He is a member of the Oklahoma Bird Records Committee, is a past member of the Colorado and New Jersey committees, and was a long-time reviewer for eBird. Tony is also interested in most everything else animalian that flies, particularly moths and odonates.