738 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE. 



Laughing Gull. Larus atricilla Linn. (58) 

 Synonyms: Black-headed (!vill. — Larus ridil)undiis, \\ils()ii. 



This is a southern species which is abundant along the South Atlantic 

 coast but is very rarely found in the inteiior, and there are no satisfactory 

 records for Michigan. Those cited by Cook (Birds of Michigan, 2d ed., 

 1893, 33) are not supported in any case by specimens, and L. W. Watkins 

 informs us that the report attributed to him is erroneous. Major Boies 

 includes it in his list of the Birds of Neebish Island (1897), but took no 

 specimens. 



It is more than ])ro])able that some one of the smaller black-headed 

 gulls has been mistaken for it in every case. It should be borne in mind 

 that this bird is about twice the weight of Bonaparte's Ciull, and little 

 inferior in measurements to the Ring-billed Gull. 



TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION. 



Tarsus much longer than middle toe and claw. Adult in summer with the head and 

 mantle dark slate color; five outer primaries entirely black or with small white tij)s, the 

 rest always white-tipped. Rest of plumage pure white, or rose-tinted in the breeding 

 season. Bill and feet dark red. Length, 15 to 17 inches; wing, 13; tail, 5; culmen, 1.75. 



Gull-billed Tern. Gelochelidon nilotica (Linn.). (63) 



Synonym: Marsh Tern. 



A species which has figured frequently in lists of Michigan l)irds, but 

 without satisfactory evidence. After careful examination of all the 

 so-called records we are convinced that there is not a shadow of excuse 

 for including it in the list. It is a bird of almost w^orld-wide distribution 

 on the salt waters of tropical and warm temperate regions. In the United 

 States it occurs rarely as far north as New England and is extremely rare 

 in the interior. Apparently there is no good record for Ohio, Indiana 

 or Wisconsin, and if it has ever occurred in any part of the Great Lake 

 region its presence must have been entirely accidental. We attribute the 

 frequent reference to this species to the unfortunate name "Marsh Tern" 

 which has led collectors who have found Forster's Tern or the Black Tern 

 nesting in marshes to assume that they had found the Gull-billed Tern. 

 As a matter of fact this bird is twice as heavy as the Black Tern and fully 

 as large as the Common Tern or as Forster's Tern, but as its name implies, 

 the bill is much stouter and thicker than in the genus Sterna, much more 

 closely resembling that of a gull than a tern. Moreover, the bill is entirely 

 black. 



Roseate Tern. Sterna dougalli Montagu. (72) 



A southern species ranging northward along the Atlantic coast to Mass- 

 achusetts and occasionally to Maine, l)ut apparently confined to the sea- 

 board. There is no authentic record for the state. There is a monnted 

 specimen in the University IMuseum at Ann Arbor bearing "INIich. " on 

 tlie label, but the record shows that it was obtained from a collector or 

 dealer who" did not specify any locality. A skin in the Kent Scientific 

 Museum at Grand Rapids (mentioned in Moseley's list, and referred to 

 by Cook) has no locality label whatever. 



