Part 8

Range.—Breeds from the Gulf of Mexico north to Mass., and in the interior to Ohio, but most abundantly on the South Atlantic coast. Winters from the Carolinas to Northern South America.

FRANKLIN GULL 59. Larus franklini. 15 in.

Adult in summer.—Hood dark; mantle lighter than the last species; primaries gray with black ends broadly tipped with white; underparts rosy; bill and feet red, the former dark toward the tip, and more slender than that of the Laughing Gull. In winter, the plumage changes the same as that of the last but the color of the primaries and the shape of the bill will always identify this species. These gulls are strictly birds of the interior, nesting on low marshy islands in ponds or sloughs, often in company with grebes, upon whose eggs they subsist to a great extent.

Notes.—Similar to those of the last species.

Nest.—A mass of weeds, etc., on the ground in marshes, often partly floating in the water. The eggs are similar to those of the Laughing Gull but the markings are usually in the form of zigzag lines as well as spots (2.25 × 1.60).

Range.—Interior of North America, breeding from Iowa and the Dakotas north to Middle Canada; winters from the Gulf States southward.

BONAPARTE GULL 60. Larus philadelphia. 14 in.

Adult in summer.—Hood lighter gray and not as extensive as in the last two species; bill slender and black; feet coral red; primaries white with black tips and outer web of first one; mantle paler than either of the last. In winter, the head is white with gray spots back of the eyes. Young birds have the back mixed with brownish and the tail with a band of black near the tip, but the bill and primaries always separate this species in any plumage from the other black-headed gulls. These little gulls are one of the most beautiful and graceful of the family, but they are rarely found in the U. S. with the dark hood.

Nest.—Of weeds and grass on the ground, but not in the watery situations chosen by the preceding species. The three eggs are olive-brown, marked with blackish (1.90 × 1.30).

Range.—Breeds in the interior from Hudson Bay and Northern Manitoba northward. Winters from Maine, the Great Lakes and British Columbia southward.

ROSS GULL; WEDGE-TAILED GULL 61. Rhodostethia rosea. 13 in.

Bill short and slender; tail wedge-shaped. Adults in summer.—With no hood, but with narrow black collar; mantle light pearl; primaries wholly white with the exception of a blackish outer web to the first one; feet coral red, and underparts tinged with rosy in the nesting season. In winter, with no black collar nor pink underparts, and with blackish spot before the eye. Young mixed with blackish above, and with a black band across the tip of the tail; feet black; easily distinguished, when in the hand, by the very small bill, and the wedge shaped tail. This gull has the most northern distribution of any known bird, except, possibly, the Knot. Its breeding grounds were first reported by Nansen in 1896, in Franz Josef Land. It is one of the rarest birds in collections.

Range.—Polar regions, south in winter to Point Barrow, Alaska, and Disco Bay, Greenland.

SABINE GULL 62. Xema sabini. 14 in.

Tail slightly forked; bill small and black, tipped with yellow. Adults in summer.—Head with a slaty-gray hood, edged with a black ring around the neck; outer primaries black, with white tips, and edge of shoulder black; feet blackish; eye ring orange red. In winter, without the hood or collar, but the head is tinged with gray on the ears and nape. Young birds most nearly resemble those of the Bonaparte Gull, but the primaries are blackish, and the tail slightly forked. This species is very abundant within the Arctic Circle, but is not as boreal as the last.

Nest.—In depressions in the ground, usually lined with grass; the three eggs are olive-brown, marked with deeper brown and black (1.75 × 1.25).

Range.—Breeds from northern Alaska and the islands about the mouth of Hudson Bay northwards; winters south on the Atlantic coast to Maine and rarely New York.

GULL-BILLED TERN 63. Gelochelidon nilotica. 14 in.

Differs from all other terns in the shape of its black bill, which is stout, but with the upper mandible not hooked nor curved, as in the gulls. Tail forked about 1.5 in. Adults have the crown black in summer, while in winter the head is white, with the nape and spot in front of eye, black mixed with white. Young birds are similar to winter adults but have the back feathers margined with brownish, and the neck streaked with gray. This species is found only on our South Atlantic and Gulf coasts, and is not abundant anywhere.

Notes.—A high, thin, somewhat reedy “tee-tee-tee,” sometimes suggesting a weak voiced katydid (Chapman).

Nest.—A slight, unlined depression in the short marsh grass or on the beaches. The three eggs are olive gray, spotted with black and brown (1.80 × 1.30).

Range.—Breeds in Texas and along the Gulf and South Atlantic coasts to Virginia; later, may wander north to New England; winters south of the U. S.

CASPIAN TERN 64. Sterna caspia. 21 in.

Largest of our terns. Bill heavy and bright red; head crested; tail forked about 1.5 in.; eyes brown. Adults in summer have the crown and occipital crest glossy black. Winter adults and young birds have the crown mixed with white, and the latter are also blotched with blackish on wings and tail.

Nest.—The 2 or 3 buffy, spotted eggs are laid in hollows in the sand. Size 2.60 × 1.75.

Range.—Breeds locally along the South Atlantic coast and in the interior to Great Slave Lake.

ROYAL TERN 65. Sterna maxima. 19 in.

Similar to the last, but smaller; bill more slender; tail forked 3.5 in.