Kelp Gulls were uncommon on our trip and were the only large gulls we saw. It is a recent colonizer to Australia with the first breeding confirmed in 1958, and it appears to be increasing. The species is usually treated as monotypic (e.g. Clements), but two subspecies are recognized by Howard & Moore and a recent publication proposes that five subspecies deserve recognition, some of which may actually be full species. Here I follow Howard & Moore who separate L. d. vetula (sometimes treated as a separate species, Cape Gull) of South Africa from L. d. dominicanus of the rest of the southern oceans. Following this taxonomy, L. d. dominicanus is the same subspecies which has been found as a vagrant in North America. Nevertheless, the immature birds we saw in Australia looked quite different to me from photos of immatures taken in South America which are the presumed origin of North American birds. 28 August 2005, Bulli, NSW, Australia.