The recent split of our Mew Gulls into Short-billed Gull and Common Gull, in the Americas and Eurasia, respectively, has offered yet another complicated identification concern for dedicated gull-watchers to ponder. And ponder they have, in North American Birds, Common Gull in Eastern North America by Chicago area birder and author of The Gull GuideAmar Ayyash, takes a look at the status of Old World Common Gulls in the ABA Area, suggesting that there are mysteries hiding within the bird we used to call Mew Gull.

Also, birders should be on the lookout for a significant irruption of Rocky Mountain bird species into the lowlands. More at aba.org.

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There are a few lucky places in the ABA Area where parrots still fly free, even if most have captive origins these day. But these big loud flashy birds have a history and future than is perhaps more interesting than many birders might imagine and these feral populations can even give us some insights into the frequently threatened wild birds in Mexico and Central America. John McCormack, director of the Moore Lab of Zoology at Occidental College in Los Angeles, was one of the authors of a paper about how two closely related Amazon parrots in southern California more or less fit into the landscape together and he joined us in 2021 to talk about it.

Also, Nate returns from the St. Louis Community Weekend with stories about warblers and serendipitous swifts. Join us for our next community weekend in Charleston, South Carolina, in November!

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The last Thursday of the month means it's time for This Month in Birding. For September 2026, host Nate Swick welcomes Andres Jimenez, Mikko Jimenez, and Sarah Swanson to discuss real data in the bird name debate, Dodo intelligence, Ontario Plover news, tiny backpacks for birds and much more.

Links to items discussed in this episode:

Birds of many feathers? Examining perceptions among US birders following the American Ornithological Society's eponymous renaming decision

Federal government assessing threats to piping plovers in Wasaga Beach

Only two complete dodo skulls are known to exist. Scientists just looked inside them – and discovered this

Tiny backpacks reveal the secret, sometimes circuitous migrations of small songbirds

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