RING-BILLED GULL. 243 



Note. — Nuttall stated that the European Common Gull (Z. 

 canus) — also called Seamew, from its feline cry — occurs regu- 

 larly in winter on our shores; but in this statement he was merely 

 following Richardson, who confounded this species with the Ring- 

 billed Gull. The only known instance of the occurrence of the 

 Seamew on this side of the Atlantic is the taking of one example 

 in Labrador by Dr. Coues. 



RING-BILLED GULL. 



Larus delawarensis. 



Char. Mantle deep pearl gray ; head, neck, tail, and under parts 

 white ; outer wing-feathers black, tipped with white, the other primaries 

 more or less barred with black and tipped with white ; bill greenish yel- 

 low, with a band of black near the end and tipped with orange ; legs and 

 feet yellow, sometimes tinged with green. 



In winter the head and nape are spotted with pale dusky. Young birds 

 are mottled white and dusky ; on the upper parts the dark tint prevails, 

 varied on the back with pale buff, and the lower parts are mostly white ; 

 tail dusky, tipped with white and pale gray at the base ; shoulders gray; 

 bill dusky, fading toward the base. Length 19/^ inches. 



A^est. On a grassy island in a lake or on an ocean cliff, — made of coarse 

 grass or sea-weed. 



Eggs. 2-3; ground color varied from pale to dark buff, sometimes 

 tinged with green or slate ; profusely marked with several shades of 

 brown and lilac ; average size about 2.40 X 1.70. 



The Ring-billed Gull is distributed throughout this continent, 

 but is more abundant on the saline lakes of the plains than along 

 the sea-coast. In the West the breeding area extends from Southern 

 Minnesota to Great Salt Lake, but on the coast this Gull does not 

 nest farther south than Newfoundland. It is rather common dur- 

 ing spring and fall on the New England coast, and in winter ranges 

 from Long Island to the West Indies. Only a few examples have 

 been taken on the Great Lakes. 



The chief summer diet of this species, in the interior, is grass- 

 hoppers, which the birds catch in the air as well as on the ground. 



