746 THE SABINE GULL 



\\ Ikmi the 111 iiiapartc'S relurn, howcNcr, rcacliiiig'. as llie\' iln. dur iiiirllicni 

 Ijoixlers late in julw they are doffiui;- their black head gear, ami they soon look 

 as babyish and innocent as ever. 



Birds of this species ha\e no liking for the steerage fare afforded by the 

 cities, but they gather extensively upon the tide-flats, where they pursue 

 marine worms and tiny crustaceans. They are not less fond of kelp beds or 

 open water, and the\- ha\e an especial liking for tide channels, where there is 

 great bustle of fishy traffic, and where a fellow can catch a ride now and then 

 on a floating soap-box — outbound or inbound, it matters not. 



Now a brother sights a scIkid] nf herring and sets uj) a joyful \elp. 

 Tnstanth' e\erv "pigeon" williiti hearing ioins him. and scores come hurrving 

 up from unseen distances, till the water is white with them. The discreet 

 fishlets ha\'e gone below, and the gulls are left to spin about on the surface 

 l(M)k-ing foolish, or to galilile amicabl\- with their similarh' du])cd neighlxii'S. 

 After all notliing matters in good society. 



Sucklev noted these gulls as common about the ninuth of the \'is(|uallv 

 Ri\'er. and presumed that they bred there; but this is doulitful. The}- are 

 said to nest abundantly in the interior of British Columbia, and they also 

 winter to some extent on the shores of that Pn)\'ince. Parties of them are 

 occasionalh' to lie met with on Puget S^und and (iray's Harbor in the rain\' 

 season lint the great majuritx- go furtlier south. 



No. 29Q. 



SABINE'S GULL. 



A. O. U. Xo. 62. Xema sabinii (Sab.). 



Synonym. — Fork-T.^ilivII Gl'LL. 



Description. — Adult in siiiniiicr: Head and upjjcr neck all arijund plum- 

 beous-slate, bordered posteriorly with black ; mantle dark pearl-grav : primaries 

 tilack, the inner ones changing to white marked witli jilumbeous, the first five 

 with white tips and white on the inner webs ; reni;iining plumage, including 

 slightly forked tail, white; bill lilack, tipped with yellow; legs and feet black; 

 eyelids orange. Adult in winter: Similar, but slaty color of head and neck 

 reduced to ear-coverts and nuchal region; rest of bead and neck white. ]'onng: 

 Above, including most of head ;uid mantle, grayish brown, each feather darken- 

 ing distally and tipped with ImlTy; t.iil wdiite with a broad blackish subtenninal 

 band ; forehead, lores, up]jer tail-coverts, and underjjarts white. Emargination 

 of tail about 1.25; that of young not much less (Cones). Length 13.00-14.00 

 (^'^0.2-T,^e,.6) ; wing lo.qo (266.7); ''''' 4/^ (120.6); bill i.oo (2^.4); tarsus 



1.25 i^Vi). 



