GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL. 527 



liuid neck ivJiite, ivith Iv/Jit hron-u streaks; all the other parti^ 

 jmre white. In summer, the hill pure yellow, the patch on the 

 lower mandible bright carmine, as are the edges of the eyelids ; 

 the head and neck jncre ichite, the other parts as in winter. 

 Young tvith the bill brownish-black, as are the edges of the 

 eyelids; the head and neck greyish-white streaked with brown; 

 the upper parts mottled with hrotvnish-black, greyish-hroivn, 

 andivhite; the lower jxirts greyish-ivhite, barred and spotted 

 with broivn ; the quills broum, narroicly tipped tvith white, the 

 outer primaries brownish-black ; the middle tail-feathers 

 barred ivith brown and wliite, the lateral nearly white, nnth 

 brown toward the end. 



Male in Winter. — This is the largest of our resident 

 species, scarcely if at all yielding in size to the Burgermeister 

 Gull, which is but an irregular, or at least a not common 

 visitant. It is rather stout in proportion to its length, the 

 body being to appearance large and full ; the neck of mode- 

 rate length and very thick ; but this fullness depends, as in 

 other Gulls, upon that of the plumage. The head is large, 

 ovate, considerably rounded above, and narrowed before. 



The bill is shorter than the head, stout, higher toward 

 the end than at the base ; the upper mandible with the dorsal 

 line nearly straight at first, then rising a little, and toward 

 the end decurved, the ridge convex, the sides slightly so, the 

 nasal groove very narrow, the edges sharp, direct, toward the 

 end arcuato-declinate, the tip narrow but rather obtuse ; the 

 lower mandible with the angle long and narrow, the outline 

 of the crura rather concave, the commissure prominent, the 

 dorsal line ascending and a little concave, the sides nearly 

 flat, the edges sharp and inflected, toward the end deciu'ved, 

 the tip obtuse. 



The mouth is of moderate width, measuring an inch and 

 three-fourths across ; the palate flat, with two very prominent 

 papillate ridges, and four intervening series of papillae ; on 

 the upper mandible five longitudinal ridges. The tongue is 

 two inches and a quarter in length, emarginatc, and finely 

 papillate at the base, rather narroAv, fleshy, deeply channelled 

 above, horny beneath, its tip narroAvly rounded. The oeso- 



