736 THE RING-BILLED GULL. 



No. 293. 



RING-BILLED GULL. 



A. O. L^. No. 54. Lariis delawarensis CJicl. 



Description. — Adult in siiiiiincr: Alantle deep pearl-gray (typical ■■Gull- 

 blue," much as in /,. arf/cntatiis ) : primaries mostly black, the color decreasing in 

 extent inwardly, and disappearins;- with the sixth quill, owing to encroachment 

 of basal white (or pearl-gray); the lirst quill with snbterminal white spot, the 

 third to sixth tipped with white (that of the third to fifth often lacking in worn 

 |)liunages) ; remaining plumage white; bill greenish yellow, crossed at angle by 

 a broad and clearly defined black band ; feet light yellow or greenish ; eyelids 

 vermilion; iris pale yellow. .Idult in ivintcr: Similar, but head and hind-neck 

 streaked with dusky gray. You)hj: Above, brownish dusk)- or fuscous, edged 

 and varied by whitish and grayish buff; outer primaries plain blackish, the 

 shorter ones extensively bluish gray, and tipped with white ; tail light bluish gray 

 more or less mottled with blackish ; crossed by a broad subterminal black band 

 and tipped with white ; below white, the sides spotted with brownish gray ; bill 

 blackish, paling basally. I^ength 18.00-20.00 (457.2-508); wing 14.50 ( 368.3); 

 tail 6.00 (152.4) ; bill 1.60 ( 40.ri ) ; tarsus 2.20 (55.9). 



Recognition Marks. — Crow size, but appearing larger; mantle "gull-blue"; 

 black band across bill at angle; extensive black (with little show of wdiite 

 spotting) of primaries distinctive; feet greenish ycllnw (thereby easily dis- 

 tinguishable from all others, save L. califoniicus and /.. brachyrliyncliiis). 



Nesting. — Not certainly known tn breed in Washington. Xest on the 

 ground, of broken down reeds and grasses, or on summit of musk-rat houses, old 

 Grebe nests, and the like ; Eggs: 2 or 3, colored as in other species. Av. size, 

 2.40 X 1.70 (61 X43). Season: June; one brood. 



General Range. — North America at large, less common on Pacific Coast; 

 breeding chiefiv in the interior from northern tier of states northward ; south in 

 winter tn Cuba and Mexico. 



Range in Washington. — Not cunimim spring and fall migrant on I'uget 

 Sound; summers casually on the East-side, where it ])iissibly breeds; after L. vcga 

 easily the least known locally of the genus l.anis. 



Authorities. — liaird (Lawrence), Rep. Pac. R. R. Surv. IX. i8;8, p. 847. 

 T. C&S. Rh. Ixk. E. 



Specimens. — Prov. 



NO tw() ol)ser\ers will agree precisely upnn the rehili\e aliuiidance ot 

 birds in a gix'en region; and this di\'ersity of experience, or jiidgment, or both, 

 appears to pertain especially to the gulls. In our experience the Ring-billed 

 Gull is not only not "conininn" i>n Puget Si)und. but its occurrence is irregular 

 and w'tirtln- i>f remark. P)y coinitarisdn with nther species in winter plumage, 

 the Ring-bill jiresents in its banded beak, its heavily spotted neck, and its 

 primaries without conspicuous wdiite, a subtle recrudescence of common juve- 

 nile characters, wdiich enable it to elude ; ibserxalii hi when inxnhed with 

 mixed companies of many sorts. 



