LARUS CALIFORNICUS, CALIFORNIAN GULL. 635 



Adult, summer plumage. — Bill chrome-yellow, tinged with greenish; a vermilion spot 

 on lower mandible at angle ; a black spot just above, forming, with a very small black 

 gjiot on the upper mandible, an imperfect transverse band. Feet dusky bluish-green, 

 the webs lighter. Mantle pearl-blue, much as in hrdthiirhi/nchufi, lighter than in cauus 

 (Liun ), perhaps slightly darker than in arfjeutatus. Primaries : bases of all light 

 bluish-white, internally almost white, es}>ecially on the outer, and of great extent on 

 all ; first with a white space at the end for about two inches, rather further on the 

 outer than inner web, the shaft white along the white portion of the feather; second 

 with a white spot near the end on the whole of the inner and most of the outer web, 

 divided by the black shaft ; tips of all white ; black forming merely a narrow subterm- 

 inal band on the sixth. Tips of inner primaries white, as are also the tips of the sec- 

 ondaries and tertials, the line of demarcation between the white and the blue of the 

 mantle pretty distinct. 



Adult, breeduKj plumage. — Eyelids bright saffron-yellow. Upper mandible bright 

 chrome, the greater part of the lower vermilion, the rest chrome. Gape of mouth dtvp 

 crimson. 



Adult, icinter ])lumage.— BUI dully colored. Head and neck behind streaked and mot- 

 tled with dusky. 



Nearlfi inature. — As in the preceding. Tail with an imperfect subterminal black bar. 

 Some of the feathers of the upper i)arts edged with gray. White space at end of first 

 primary crossed by a transverse black bar ; no s])ot on second primary. 



Young. — Bill yellowish flesh-color, black on the terminal half. Head, neck, rump, 

 ■wing-coverts, tertials and secondaiies, mottled with dusky. Primaries and tail nni- 

 fo. ndy brownish-black, scarcely lighter at the tips. Back as in the adults, but the 

 feathers with grayish edges. 



Dimensions. — Length, i20 inches; wing, 1.5 to 16; bill, 1.00 to 1.90; depth at emi- 

 nentia symphysis, 0..')(i ; tarsus, 2 to 2.'25 ; middle toe and claw, about the same. 



A very full series of this species in the collection, embracing specimens in every stage 

 of plumage, except that of the young-of-the-year, enables us to give full diagnoses of 

 the different ages, and to present its variations. The latter, as regards size, and es^ 

 pecially the size and shape of the bill, arc very gn at, equaling, if not exceeding, those of 

 any other s])ecies. In the smallest si)ecimen beibi-e me the wing, bill, and ta- sus, meas- 

 ure, respectively, I4.2ij, 1.05, and 2.1.') ; in the largest, 10.7.5, 2.20, and 2.00, making the 

 difference in these i)arts 2.50, 0..55, and 0.40 inches, respectively. Yet with these varia- 

 tions it is not difficult to recognize the species. The bill is larger than in ddauartnsis 

 or variety Bruchii, and has seldom or never the ])erfect black band near the tip; the 

 upper parts are darker than in either, and the character of the primaries is quite dif- 

 ferent, in the lo >g, white space on the first, instead of a white subterminal spot. From 

 cidviitnlis it may always be known by its much less robust and deep bill, with lighter 

 ui)i)er parts, and the light bases of the primaries. Though usuaMy considerably smaller, 

 Avith a smaller, weaker bill than in argtutaluf, mature birds from high latitudes son e- 

 times approach or nearly ecjual the latter in size, and on<^ specimen belbre us has 

 actually a larger bill than in one nnd()nl)ted argentatus. But the <hirker upper ]»arts of 

 c lifiirnicus, and the very differed t character of the primaries, both basally ami termiu- 

 ally, separate the two without difficulty. 



The first ]irimary of this species, though white for about two inches in mature birds, 

 has, j)erhaps nsnally, a narrow, irregular, black band across one or both wi'l>s, near the 

 end, dividing tlie white into a subterminal spot and broad tip. The shaft is .ihvays 

 white along the white i)ortion of tin; fi-ather. 'I'he spot on tlii^ .second primary some- 

 times extends only on th(! iinier webs; tiie shaft is always wholly black. The shafts 

 of all the primaries an^ white at the white tips. The orange eyelids and crimson gape 

 are retained oidy for a short time during the breeding season. In winter the head and 

 neck are streaked with dusky. 



The type-s|)e(imeu of caUJornicus, kindly fnrni.shed for examination by Mr. Lawrence, 

 is moulting, and some of the itrimaiies are not fully grown out. The wliiti- ai)ieal 

 sjtaee on the first jirimary is crossed by a narrow, transverse, black bar. A large series 

 of skins, however, demonstr 'tes that the bhiek bar is soon n solved into two ^pots, or 

 indentations, on the edges of the feather, and then (piite <lisap]>ears, leaving the pri- 

 mary purely and uninterrni)tedly white at its tip for about two inches. 



Syiionipny. — I incline to the opinion that culiJ'oruHUs is not the first designation of 

 this species, believing that nrgcutiitoidts of Kiehardson (IH'51) was based upon it. Very 

 numerous s])ecimens of a (iull from the intericu- ot Arctic America are donl)tless of the 

 sjiecies which h'iehardson calls argrnlaloidrs. Their sizi- is souu'what greati-r than tlyit 

 of lypical exami.les fiom C'alifi)rnia. though no more so than might be expected tVoiu 

 their more northern haiiitat ; and they are a shade lighter in the color of the man lo, 

 but othei wise so entirely similar to (((liforuicus proper that fhe\ were unhesit.itiiii; y 

 referred to the latter species by both Prof. I?aird and myself, ihe only real discrep- 

 ancy to be reconciled in Kiehardson's description is the statement that the legs are 

 "llesh-colo-ed," those of the lrn<' ralifornicus being of a dusky olivaceous, with clirome- 

 yellow webs, much as in delauannsis. In this respect, as well as in a less powerful 



