GLAUCOUS GULL, OR BURGOMASTER. 307 



no reason why it should proceed south along the Pacific in 

 preference to the Atlantic coast. It is almost continually 

 on the wing, uttering often a hoarse cry like the Raven. It 

 is extremely tyrannical, greedy and voracious, preying not 

 only on fish and small birds, but also on carrion ; and is said 

 likewise to attend on the Walrus to feed on its excrement. 

 He wrests their prey from the weaker birds, is usually seen 

 hovering high in the air, or seated on some lofty pinnacle of 

 ice, from whence, having fixed his eye upon some favorite 

 morsel, he darts down on the possessor, which, whether 

 Fulmar, Snow-Bird, or Kittiwake, must instantly resign the 

 coveted prize. The Auk, as well as the young Penguin, 

 he not only robs but often wholly devours. Pressed by 

 hunger they sometimes even condescend to share the Crow- 

 Berry ( Empetriim migrwii) with the Ptarmigan, and it is usu- 

 ally, when not impelled by hunger, a rather shy and inactive 

 bird, and much less clamorous than others of the genus. 

 They nest upon hollow rocks, laying 3 eggs of a pale pur- 

 plish-grey, with scattered spots of umber-brown and subdued 

 lavender purple. 



The length of the Glaucous Gull extends from 29 to 32 inches ; 

 the wing 19 inches ; the bill above 3 inches ; tarsus of the same 

 length with the bill. — Winter plumage, with the head and neck 

 streaked and mottled with very pale wood brown, The young are 

 streaked longitudinally on the neck with pale brown, and the upper 

 plumage is barred transversely with ash-grey and greyish-yellow ; 

 the tail irregularly spotted. The shafts of the primaries white, and 

 the spots on the webs are much paler than in the young of L. mari- 

 nus and argentatus. The bill is horn colored at the base, and brown- 

 ish-black at the tip. Feet flesh colored. 



Summer plumage, with the mantle French-grey. The edge of the 

 wing, the ends of the first primaries, and the shafts and tips of the 

 others, with all the rest of the plumage, white. Bill wine-yellow, 

 marked near the tip of the lower mandible with orpiment-orange. 

 Irids straw yellow. Legs and feet livid flesh color. The bill strong, 

 with an angular projection near the point beneath. 



