LEADEN-GREY-HOODED MEW. 591 



the end of six weeks, and soon after this are abandoned by 

 their parents, when the old and young birds keep apart in 

 flocks until the following spring, when, I think, the latter 

 nearly attain the plumage of their parents, though they are 

 still smaller, and have the terminal band on the tail." 



YoiTNG. — When fledged, the young have the bill, inside 

 of the mouth, edges of the eyelids, and feet, olive-brown. 

 The upper parts are brownish-grey, variegated with paler, the 

 margins of the feathers being brownish-white ; the hind part 

 of the back light bluish-grey ; the upper tail-coverts nearly 

 white. The primaries are brownish-black, the outer four 

 without white at the tip. The tail is pale greyish-blue, with 

 a broad band of brownish-black at the end ; the feathers 

 narrowly tipped with brownish-white. The lower parts are 

 greyish-white ; the lower part of the neck brownish-grey ; 

 the axillars ash-grey ; the lower wing-coverts dusky-grey. 



Remarks. — M. Temminck describes his Larus Atricilla as 

 having " toutes remiges noire," and " pennes secondaries de 

 couleur de plomb ; extremite des pennes secondaries blanches ; 

 toutes les remiges sont d'un noir profond, sans aucun pointe 

 blanche." Again, in his supplementary fourth volume, he 

 says that in a specimen in its first adult winter plumage, the 

 primaries (remiges) are " noires, terminees par une pointe 

 blanche ;" but that old birds, whether in summer or in 

 winter, have no longer any indication of white spots at the 

 end of the quills, they being of a perfect black, Avith the base 

 slate-colour. He further observes that, notwithstanding the 

 remarks made by Meyer and others, as to his Larus Atricilla 

 not being that of Catesby and Brisson, he can positively assert 

 that it is the same Gull. Now, Brisson describes his Gavia 

 ridibunda, the Atricilla of Linneeus, and the Laughing Gull 

 of Catesby, as having not all the ten primaries black, but 

 the outer three black, but gi'ey at the base, the next three 

 grey at their origin and black toward the end, the latter 

 colour gradually occupying less space the nearer the feather 

 is to the body, and the six being moreover tipped with white. 

 Loose descriptions, in species so nearly allied, and so difficult 



