ORNITHOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS. 



77 



177G. — Lnrus atriciUa Pall., fepici! ZooL, V, p. 28 (wee Lin.). — Id., Zoogr. Ross. As., 



II, p. 324 (182(5).— Falck, Reise, III (p. 354) (1786). 

 1820. — Larus cajmtratus Temm., Mau. d'Orn., 2 ed., II, p. 785. — Chroicocephalus c. 



SWHIXH., P. Z. S., 1863, p. 326.— Dybow. &, Parvex, J. f. Oru., 1868, p. 



338.-TACZAN., J. f. Orn., 1873, p. 111.— M, ibid., 1874, p. 337.— i(i.,iWd., 



1875, p. 2b7.—ld.,ibid., 1876, p. 202.— /d.. Bull. Soc. Zool. France, 1876, p. 



264.— W., ibid., 1882, p. 397.— 7(Z., Oru. Faun. Vost. Sibir., p. 65 (1877). 

 1857. — Lams brunneicephalus? Cassin, Exp. Jap. Perry, II, p. 233. 



Having no true L. ridibundus from Europe at hand I shall make no 

 attempt, at present, at separating the eastern bird from the western. I 

 will only point to the fact that even the smallest dimensions of my 

 birds and of a series of specimens from Japan (together with numerous 

 measurements in Blakiston's manuscript notes from the latter country) 

 are considerably larger than the maximum of a series of some thirty 

 specimens as given by Schlegel (Mus. P. B. Lari, p. 38). It was this 

 large size which induced Cassin to regard the specimen from Japan 

 (and I have re-examined and re-measured it and find it agree perfectly 

 with others from the same locality and from Kamtschatka) as belong- 

 ing to brunneicephalus Jerdon. Middendorff's L. ridibundus var. major 

 is probably the same thing. The pattern of the first three primaries is 

 essentially the same as that given by Saunders (P. Z. S., 1878, p. 201, fig. 

 12), only that on the third primary at least the outer half of the light 

 portion is a distinct and rather well-defined bluish gray of the same 

 color as the back. 



List of specimens collected. 



*MouHing. tTo tip of second primary ; the first one still growing and shorter than the second. 



No. 92892. — Iris dark brown. Bill pale salmon red; tip in front of nostrils dark brownish. Feetand 

 webs similarly colored ; tarsus in front brownish gray, and toes a little more livid than the webs ; nails, 

 blackish. 



No. 92893. — Bill and feet vermilion, the former somewhat dusky towards the tip. 



This species occurs abundantly in the vicinity of Petropaulski, where 

 it breeds. It was not seen on the islands during my stay there, but I 

 was informed that a few have been observed occasionally at Lake 

 Sarauna. 



