LARUS AEGENTATUS, HERRING GULL. 633 



which schools in myriads along the coast, affording the fishermen almost 

 tlieir only bait for cod. The breeding range is chiefly from New En- 

 gland to Labrador. Birds occasionally reach Greenland, yet Labrador 

 is the regular terminus. When the fall migration occurs they are spread 

 along our whole Atlantic coast, but principally from New England to 

 the Carolinas, where many winter. I observa^d them constantly at Fort 

 Macon, North Carolina, from September through May. In winter they 

 are very abundant, being, in fact, the characteristic and only common bird 

 of the family. There is little falling off in their numbers during March ; 

 most wend their way north early in April, when the Terns and Hooded 

 Gulls make their appearance, but some linger through May. In the 

 fall some arrive in September, but they are not i)lentiful until the latter 

 l)art of October. Being here rarely molested, they get quite tame, often 

 mixing with the domestic Geese around the fort, and sometimes permit- 

 ting an approach within a few feet, though in general they show an ap- 

 preciation of the limits of gunshot range. Most of the mature birds 

 gain their nuptial livery before leaving. They are nearly silent during 

 the wiuter, except when quarreling over their food ; ijut they grow 

 noisy in Ai)ril, at the approach of the breediiig season, and before they 

 finally depart the air fairly resounds with their harsh cries. 



A great part of their food at this season consisted of the refuse from 

 the fort ; they were always hovering over the spot where the garbage 

 was thrown, contending for the booty with Turkey-buzzards and Fish 

 Crows. At ebb-tide they frequently strung along the beach, at the 

 water's edge, gathering various animal and vegetable substances 

 stranded by the receding waves. A favorite resort was the large sand 

 spots and muddy flats of the harbor, where they gathered soft molluscs, 

 ascidians, and other matters. They seemed particularly fond of a kind 

 of bivalve there, the Ci/tharea fjigantea. Holding the shell under their 

 feet, as a Hawk would its quarrj', they hammered with the beak until 

 the shell was broken in, and feasted on the contents. They managed 

 the Pectens (P. dislocatus) in the same manner, but the quahogs were 

 too much for them. I once found remains of a marsh hare in the 

 stomach of one of these Gulls. 



In the interior, I have found this species on the Upper Missouri, and 

 we have authentic advices of its occurrence in several of the States, par- 

 ticularly those in the region of the Great Lakes. I have also seen speci- 

 mens from the Pacific coast. 



Var. occiDENTALis, (Aucl.) Cones. 



DiAG. L. argoitato similis, aed paUio valde olscuriore {intensd plumbco) et rosiro brevi, alli- 

 ore, robustiiiHimo. 



IIah.—l\\c\\\c coast of Nortb Aiiierit-i (and Asia?) 



]5ill large, very stout and dcej) ; tlio *»nlnien convt-x at tliu end ; tho i.nf^lo stronjily 

 developed, inakinii tile under out line doubly concave. Feet larj^e and stout ; tho tarsus 

 equal to tlie middle toe and claw. 



Adult, Hiimmn- jiliim(((ii: — Bill brifflit elininie-yellow ; a vermilion spot, uioro or less 

 extensive, at the an-rle. Mantle dark hluish-Asli, almost slate-color; the tips of the 

 secondaries and tertials white; the line of demarcat ion distinct, rriniaries: lirst 

 three black throufihont tlu-ir exposed jiorlions, the outi-r w liitf for some distanci' at 

 the tip (1.7.") inches), cro.ssed near the end with an irrej^ular blaek bar, the shafts en- 

 tirely black ; second, without a white spot, but its tip, aiul the tips of all the otliers, 

 white. Lof^s and feet llesb-color. 



Apinoarlihiij mtitiirilji.— \h ill the precodiufj, but the upper parts rather li«;hter, and 

 the tail with an im])rrfect subtermin.d bar. 



IiihriiKdialf. — WiU innch as in tUv adiiil. Wliilr of tlir lieatl. neck, and under jiarts, 

 more or less mottled w ith dusky : "^Nill-hlnc" o| the upper parts iippeariuj; in irre;;ular 

 patches; most of the lialbers tipped with li;;ht K'»y- I'riniaries and tail nuiforni 

 deep blackish-browu, with scureuly liyhtcr tips, tho foriuur without spots. 



