658 sadine's gull. 



Sabine shot two in breeding-dress in July 1823 in the Spitsbergen 

 group, where birds were recognized by Parry's Expedition in 1827 ; 

 and the species is a visitor to Jan Mayen. In the Atlantic it has 

 been met with as far south as the Bermudas and Texas ; while 

 in the Pacific it not only crosses the equator, but goes as far as 

 lat. 12"' S., nearly adult specimens in winter-plumage having been 

 presented to me by Admiral Markham, from Callao Bay, where 

 Staff-Commr. MacFarlane afterwards found it in swarms during the 

 month of February. It thereby over-laps the habitat of the far 

 larger A', fiinata, another fork-tailed species, which has its head- 

 <}uarters in the Galapagos Islands. 



The eggs, 2 in number, are laid on the bare ground, or on dry 

 tussocks in marshes near the sea, and frequently in proximity to 

 those of the Arctic Tern, with which bird this Gull often associates. 

 They are brownish-olive in colour, with somewhat darker blotches 

 near the larger end— much like those of the Arctic Skua in minia- 

 ture : measurements 17 by i"3in. The nestlings, hatched towards 

 the end of July, are at first mottled with brown and dull yellow. 

 The food consists of small fish, crustaceans, worms, insects and their 

 larvre ; the note is harsh and clicking. 



The adult in summer-plumage has the head and neck lead-grey, 

 encircled by a black collar ; quills chiefly black, broadly tipped with 

 white ; tail and under-parts white ; mantle slate-colour ; length 

 13 in. ; wing 1075 in. In winter the crown and forehead are white, 

 but there is more or less black on the nape. The young bird in 

 the plumage of the first autumn (figured below) is ash-grey on the 

 upper-parts, barred with brown and dull white ; when still younger 

 it has a dark gorget. 





