Glaucous-winged gull

tags: mystery bird, identify this bird, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz "What species of bird was in the shortest Superbowl commercial in history?" [Mystery bird] Glaucous-winged Gull, Larus glaucescens, an image grab from the television in Seattle during the Superbowl 2009 .. this bird was featured in shortest Superbowl commercial ever shown (0.5 sec) -- can you identify this mystery bird? Image: a Tweeters list subscriber, 1 February 2009. [larger view]. Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification. Here's another look [0:03]: And here's the original image…
Humans have explored the entire face of the planet, but we haven't done so alone. Animals and plants came along for the ride, some as passengers and other as stowaways. Today, these hitchhikers pose one of the greatest threats to the planet's biodiversity, by ousting and outcompeting local species. Islands are particularly vulnerable to invaders. Cut off from the mainland, island-dwellers often evolve in the absence of predators and competitors, and are prone to developing traits that make them easy pickings for invaders, like docile natures or flightlessness. Two years ago, I wrote about…