24 HISTORY OF THE 



end by a wide band of black, about .75 of an inch wide; sixth quill pale pearl 

 gray, passiug into white terminally, and marked near the end by a more or less 

 imperfect black spot; remaining quills pale jiearl blue, passiug terminally into 

 white, and without a trace of black. Bill greenish yellow, crossed near the end 

 by a blackish band, the tip sometimes tinged with orange; rictus and eyelids 

 vermilion red; interior of mouth rich orange red, more intense posteriorly; 

 iris clear pale yellow; feet pale yellow, sometimes tinged with greenish; claws 

 black. Adult, in winter: Similar, but the head and neck, except beneath, 

 streaked with brownish gray. Young, first plumage: Above, brownish dusky, 

 the feathers bordered with pale grayish buff; primaries blackish dusky, the in- 

 ner quills bluish gray basally, and tipped with white; secondaries bluisli gray 

 on basal half, dusky black terminally, where edged with white; basal two-thirds 

 of the tail pale gray, more whitish basally, mottled with deeper grayish; ter- 

 minal third dusky black, narrowly tipped with white. Lower parts white, 

 spotted laterally with grayish brown. Bill black, base of lower mandible and 

 edges of the upper toward the base livid flesh color; edges of eyelids livid blue; 

 iris hazel; feet purplish gray; claws brownish black." 



This species is at liome on the wing, as well as upon the 

 water, and in the fall of the year, during the early part of the 

 afternoon, can often be seen about the streams or bodies of wa- 

 ter sailing and circling in the air. 



An examination of their stomachs at such times will show 

 that it is grasshoppers they are after, not pleasure alone. To 

 satisfy myself upon this point, I shot, on the Arkansas Eiver, 

 several of the birds while thus flying, and found grasshoppers 

 in all, also a few beetles. Two of the birds that fell had grass- 

 hoppers in their mouths. In otlier respects tlieir food habits 

 are much like the Herring Gull, often following the steamers a 

 long distance from the shore. 



During the winter months I have seen them on the south 

 coast of Florida, and on the Pacific side, south to Altata, 

 Mexico. In migration, they are common throughout the United 

 States. They breed west of the Rocky Mountains from about 

 latitude 40°, and east of tJie same from about latitude 50°, 

 north into the Arctic region. Audubon says: "On an island 

 within a few miles of Eastport, Maine, I found these birds 

 breeding in great numbers, in the beginning of May. Their 



