GLAUCOUS GULL. 559 



fourtli, and with twenty-four scutella, the third with thirty- 

 four, the fourtli with thirty-two. The edges of the Avehs are 

 concave, the soles flattened, the margins of the lateral toes 

 expanded and thick. The claws are small, slightly arched, 

 depressed, rounded, that of the middle toe with a thin ex- 

 panded inner edge. 



The plumage is full, close, elastic, soft, and blended ; on 

 the back and wings somewhat compact; the feathers in 

 general rounded and curved. The wings are very long, but 

 when closed shorter by about an inch than the tail, of mode- 

 rate breadth, pointed, with thirty-four quills ; the first about 

 two-twelfths shorter than the second, the rest rapidly gradu- 

 ated ; the secondaries broad and rounded, the inner narrower. 

 The tail is rather short and slightly rounded. 



The bill is wine-yellow, the lower mandible Avith an 

 orpiment patch near the end ; the edges of the eyelids pale 

 yellow ; the feet flesh-coloured, the claws bluish-black. The 

 head, neck, lower parts, rump, and tail are white ; but the 

 head and neck are longitudinally streaked with very pale 

 greyish-brown. The back and wings are pearl-grey tinged 

 with blue or light bluish-grey ; the edge of the wing, a con- 

 siderable portion of the outer primaries toward the end, the 

 tips of all the other quills, white ; the shafts of the first 

 quill pure white, of the rest gradually tinged with ash-grey. 



Length to end of tail 30 inches ; extent of wings 62 ; 

 wing from flexure 19^; tail 84-; bill along the ridge 2f, 

 along the edge of lower mandible 3, its height at the angle 

 Yj ; tarsus 8 ; hind toe -^, its claw -^ ; third toe and claw 



9 1 



~ I 2' 



Female. — The female is similar to the male, but some- 

 what smaller. 



Length to end of tail 28 inches ; extent of wings 60 ; bill 

 along the ridge 2f , its height | ; tarsus 2\^ ; middle toe and 

 claw 2f . 



Variations. — Adult individuals differ considerably in 

 size, the largest being 31 inches in length, the smallest 27. 

 This species is, perhaps, generally longer than Larus ma- 



