Part 155

Larus eburneus, Bonap. Syn. p. 360.

Larus eburneus, Ivory Gull, Swains. & Rich. F. Bor. Amer.

Ivory Gull, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 301.

Ivory Gull, Larus eburneus, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iii. p. 571.

448. 8. Larus zonorhynchus, Richardson. Ring-billed Gull.--Common American Gull.

Plate CCXII. Adult and Young.

Bill stout, compressed, greenish-yellow, with a broad band of black opposite the prominence; wings two inches and a half longer than the tail; feet greenish-yellow; general colour of the plumage pure white, excepting the back and upper surface of the wings, which are light greyish-blue; the first-six quills black towards their extremities, the first and second being almost entirely so, the sixth with only a small spot; the tips of these feathers white, the first moreover with a long patch of white, over its whole breadth, the second with a smaller patch, not occupying the entire breadth, sometimes confined to the inner web, the other quills white at the end. Young after second moult with the bill black, the feet purplish-grey; general colour of plumage dull white, mottled with greyish-brown beneath, on the back with large brownish-black spots, the dark markings being central; anterior to the eye a crescent of greyish-black; outer primary quills black, terminally edged with white.

Adult, 20, 48.

Common during winter from Texas, along the coast, to Maine. Up the Mississippi to Natchez. Breeds from Maine to Labrador, Hudson's Bay, and Arctic shores. Columbia River. Migratory.

Larus canus, Mew or Common Gull, Rich. & Swains. F. Bor. Amer. v. ii. p. 420.

Larus zonorhynchus, Ring-billed Mew-Gull, Ibid. p. 421.

Larus brachyrhynchus, Short-billed Mew-Gull, Ibid. p. 422.

Ring-billed Mew-Gull, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 300.

Common American Gull, Larus zonorhynchus. Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iii. p. 98; v. v. p. 638.

449. 9. Larus leucopterus, Fabr. White-winged Silvery Gull.

Plate CCLXXXII. Adult and Young.

Bill stout, gamboge-yellow, with a spot of orange-red near the end of the lower mandible; angle of the mouth and edges of eyelids orange-red; feet pale flesh-colour; wings more than two inches longer than the tail; plumage pure white, excepting the back and upper surface of the wings, which are light greyish-blue; the tips of the secondaries, the terminal third of the primaries, and the upper tail-coverts, also white. Young in second plumage with the bill yellow, tipped with black, the feet yellowish flesh-colour; plumage yellowish-grey, marked on the head and neck with longitudinal streaks of pale brown, on the back and wings with transverse undulations, those on the tail much fainter; the first six quills destitute of markings.

Adult, 26, 50.

During winter from New York to Nova Scotia. Not rare. Breeds on the islands and peninsulas of the Arctic Seas.

Larus leucopterus, Bonap. Syn. p. 361.

Larus leucopterus, White-winged Silvery Gull, Swains. & Rich. F. Bor. Amer. v. ii. p. 418.

White-winged Silvery Gull, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 305.

White-winged Silvery Gull, Larus leucopterus, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iii. p. 553.

450. 10. Larus occidentalis, Aud. Western Gull.

Not figured.

Bill robust, compressed, yellow, with an orange-red patch toward the end of the lower mandible; iris light hazel; feet flesh-coloured; head, neck, lower parts, rump, and tail pure white; back and wings light greyish-blue, of a deeper tint than in L. argentatus; edges of the wings and extremities of the quills white; first seven quills greyish-black toward the end, that colour including the outer webs and the greater part of the inner of the two first, and on the rest gradually diminishing, so as on the seventh merely to form a subterminal bar; the first quill with a patch of white on both webs near the end; the tips of all white. Young male in winter with the bill black, feet flesh-coloured; upper part and sides of the head, hind part and sides of the neck, light brownish-grey, faintly mottled and streaked with white; upper parts in general greyish-brown, confusedly mottled with whitish; rump white barred with brown; primary quills greyish-black, without white at the end; secondary quills similar, more grey toward the base, margined and tipped with white, undulated with brown; tail greyish-black, tipped with whitish; lower parts greyish-white, mottled with greyish-brown. This species, which is very intimately allied to Larus argentatus, is remarkable for the great depth and comparative shortness of its bill.

Male, 27, wing 17-1/4, but the feathers not complete.

Western Gull, Larus occidentalis, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. v. p. 320.